UC-NRLF 


B    M    IDE    E&3 


POPULAR  NOVELS 

BY 

AUGUSTA  EVANS  WILSON, 


1.  BEULAH    .    $1.75 

2.  MAC  ARIA  .      1.75 

3.  INEZ  .  1.75 


4.  ST.  ELMO   .  $2.00 

5.  VASHTI       .     2.00 

6.  INFELICE  .     2.00 


7.  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS,  neiv  2.00 


"  Who  has  not  read  with  rare  delight  the  novels  of  Augusta 
Evans?     Her  strange,  wonderful,  and  fascinating  style; 
the  profound  depths  to  which  she  sinks  the  probe  into 
human  nature,  touching  i!  s  most  sacred  chords  and 
springs;  the  intense  interest  thrown  around 
her  characters,  and  the  very  marked  pecu 
liarities  of  her  principal  figures,  con 
spire  to  give  an  unusual  interest 
to  the  works  of  this  eminent 
Southern    authoress." 


All  published  uniform  with  this  volume,  and  wc&free  by  mail, 
on  receipt  of  price,  by 

G.  \V.  DlLl.lNCiiiA.Tl,  Publisher, 

SUCCESSOR  TO  G.  W.  CARLETON  &  Co., 
New  York. 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS 


A  NOVEL 


BY 


AUGUSTA  EVANS  WILSON 

// 

Author  of  " Beulah"  " St.  Elmo,"  " Infdice"  *tc. 


"  If  you  believe  io  Fate  to  your  harm,  believe  it,  at  least,  for  your  good. 
It  is  the  best  use  of  Fate  to  teach  a  fatal  courage.    Go  face  whatever 
lies  in  tbe  way  of  duty,  knowing  you  are  guarded  by  the  cherubim  of  Destiay." 


NEW   YORK 

Copyright,  1887,  by 

G.  W.   Dillingham,  P^lblisher^ 

SUCCESSOR  TO  O.  W.  CARLBTON  &  Co. 
LONDON  :     CHAPMAN    AND   HALL 

1887 
[JLLL  RIGriTR   RESKTtVBD.] 


PSS332- 


IN  MEMORY  OF 

u  m*tt{**, 

WHO  ffAg  ENTERED  INTO  EESf . 


S/J1508S3 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

are  obstinate  and  ungrateful.  You  wouW 
rather  see  me  suffer  and  die,  than  bend  youi 
stubborn  pride  in  the  effort  to  obtain  relief  for  me, 
You  will  not  try  to  save  me." 

The  thin,  hysterically  unsteady  voice  ended  in  a  sob, 
and  the  frail  wasted  form  of  the  speaker  leaned  for 
ward,  as  if  the  issue  of  life  or  death  hung  upon  an 
answer. 

The  tower  clock  of  a  neighboring  church  began  to 
strike  the  hour  of  noon,  and  not  until  the  echo  of  the 
last  stroke  had  died  away,  was  there  a  reply  to  the 
appeal. 

"  Mother,  try  to  be  just  to  me.  My  pride  is  for  you, 
not  for  myself.  I  shrink  from  seeing  my  mother 
crawl  to  the  feet  of  a  man,  who  has  disowned  and 
spurned  her ;  I  cannot  consent  that  she  should  humbly 
beg  for  rights,  so  unnaturally  withheld.  Every  in 
stinct  of  my  nature  revolts  from  the  step  you  require 
of  me,  and  I  feel  as  if  you  held  a  hot  iron  in  your  hand, 
waiting  to  brand  me." 

"  Your  proud  sensitiveness  runs  in  a  strange  groove, 
and  it  seems  you  would  prefer  to  see  me  a  pauper  in  a 
Hospital,  rather  than  go  to  your  grandfather  and  ask 
for  help.  Beryl,  time  presses,  and  if  I  die  for  want  of 
aid,  you  will  be  responsible ;  when  it  is  too  late,  you 


8  AT  Ififl  ItEKCT  OP  TIBERIUS. 

will  reproach  yourself.  If  I  only  knew  where  and  how 
to  reach  my  dear  boy,  I  should  not  importune  you. 
Bertie  would  not  refuse  obedience  to  my  wishes." 

The  silence  which  followed  was  so  prolonged  that 
a  mouse  crept  from  its  covert  in  some  corner  of  the 
comfortless  garret  room,  and  nibbled  at  the  fragments 
of  bread  scattered  on  the  table. 

Beryl  stood  at  the  dormer  window,  holding  aside  the 
faded  blue  cotton  curtain,  and  the  mid-day  glare  falling 
upon  her,  showed  every  curve  of  her  tall  full  form ; 
every  line  in  the  calm,  pale  Sibylline  face.  The  large 
steel  grey  eyes  were  shaded  by  drooping  lids,  heavily 
fringed  with  black  lashes,  but  when  raised  in  a  steady 
gaze  the  pupils  appeared  abnormally  dilated ;  and  the 
delicately  traced  black  brows  that  overarched  them, 
contrasted  conspicuously  with  the  wealth  of  deep 
auburn  hair  darkened  by  mahogany  tints,  which 
rolled  back  in  shining  waves  from  her  blue  veined 
temples.  While  moulding  the  figure  and  features 
upon  a  scale  almost  heroic,  nature  had  jealously 
guarded  the  symmetry  of  her  work,  and  in  addition  to 
the  perfect  proportion  of  the  statuesque  outlines,  had 
bestowed  upon  the  firm  white  flesh  a  gleaming  smooth 
ness,  suggestive  of  fine  grained  marble  highly  polished. 
Majesty  of  mien  implies  much,  which  the  comparatively 
short  period  of  eighteen  years  rarely  confers,  yet 
majestic  most  properly  describes  this  girl,  whose 
archetype  Veleda  read  runic  myths  to  the  Bructeri  in 
the  twilight  of  history. 

Beryl  crossed  the  room,  and  with  her  hands  folded 
tightly  together,  came  to  the  low  bed,  on  which  lay 
the  wreck  of  a  once  beautiful  woman,  and  stood  for  a 
moment  silent  and  pre-occupied.  With  a  sudden 
gesture  of  surrender,  she  stooped  her  noble  head,  as 
if  assuming  a  yoke,  and  drew  one  long  deep  breath. 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  9 

Did  some  prophetic  intuition  show  her  at  that  instant 
the  Phicean  Hill  and  its  dread  tenant,  which  sooner 
or  later  we  must  all  confront  ? 

"  Dear  mother,  I  submit.  Obedience  to  your  com 
mands  certainly  ought  not  to  lead  me  astray ;  yet  I 
feel  that  I  stand  at  the  cross-roads,  longing-  to  turn 
and  flee  from  the  way  whither  your  finger  points.  I 
have  no  hope  of  accomplishing  any  good,  and  nothing 
but  humiliation  can  result  from  the  experiment ;  but 
I  will  go.  Sometimes  I  believe,  that  fate  maliciously 
hunts  up  the  things  we  most  bitterly  abhor,  and  one 
by  one  sets  them  down  before  us — labelled  Duty. 
When  do  you  wish  me  to  start  ?" 

"  To-night,  at  nine  o'clock.  In  the  letter  which  you 
will  take  to  father,  I  have  told  him  our  destitution, 
and  that  the  money  spent  for  your  railway  ticket  has 
been  obtained  by  the  sacrifice  of  the  diamonds  and 
pearls,  that  were  set  around  my  mother's  picture ; 
that  cameo,  which  he  had  cut  in  Borne  and  framed  in 
Paris.  Beryl  so  much  depends  on  the  impression  you 
make  upon  him,  that  you  must  guard  your  manner 
against  haughtiness.  Try  to  be  patient,  my  daughter, 
and  if  he  should  seem  harsh,  do  not  resent  his  words. 
He  is  old  now,  and  proud  and  bitter,  but  he  once  had 
a  tender  love  for  me.  I  was  his  idol,  and  when  my 
child  pleads,  he  will  relent." 

Mrs.  Brentano  laid  her  thin  hot  fingers  on  her 
daughter's  hands,  drawing  her  down  to  the  edge  of 
the  bed ;  and  Beryl  saw  she  was  quivering  with  ner 
vous  excitement. 

"  Compose  yourself,  mother,  or  you  will  be  so  ill  that 
I  cannot  leave  you.  Dr.  Grantlin  impressed  upon  us, 
the  necessity  of  keeping  your  nervous  system  quiet. 
Take  your  medicine  now,  and  try  to  sleep  until  I  come 
back  from  Stephen  &  Endicott's." 


10  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"  Do  not  go  to-day." 

"  I  must.  Those  porcelain  types  were  promised  for 
a  certain  day,  and  they  should  be  packed  in  time  for 
the  afternoon  express,  going  to  Boston." 

"  Beryl." 

"Well,  mother?" 

"  Come  nearer  to  me.  Give  me  your  hand.  My 
heart  is  so  oppressed  by  dread,  that  I  want  you  to 
promise  me  something,  which  I  fancy  will  lighten  my 
burden.  Life  is  very  uncertain,  and  if  I  should  die, 
what  would  become  of  my  Bertie  ?  Oh,  my  boy  I  my 
darling,  my  first  born !  He  is  so  impulsive,  so  head 
strong  ;  and  no  one  but  his  mother  could  ever  excuse 
or  forgive  his  waywardness.  Although  younger,  you 
are  in  some  respects,  the  strongest ;  and  I  want  your 
promise  that  you  will  always  be  patient  and  tender 
with  him,  and  that  you  will  shield  him  from  evil,  as  I 
have  tried  to  do.  His  conscience  of  course,  is  not 
sensitive  like  yours — because  you  know,  a  boy's  moral 
nature  is  totally  different  from  a  girl's  ;  and  like  most 
of  his  sex,  Bertie  has  no  religious  instincts  bending 
him  always  in  the  right  direction.  Women  generally 
have  to  supply  conscientious  scruples  for  men,  and 
you  can  take  care  of  your  brother,  if  you  will.  You 
are  unusually  brave  and  strong,  Beryl,  and  when  I 
am  gone,  you  must  stand  between  him  and  trouble. 
My  good  little  girl,  will  you  ?" 

The  large  luminous  eyes  that  rested  upon  the  flushed 
face  of  the  invalid,  filled  with  a  mist  of  yearning  com 
passionate  tenderness,  and  taking  her  mother's  hands, 
Beryl  laid  the  palms  together,  then  stooping  nearer, 
kissed  her  softly. 

"  I  think  I  have  never  lacked  love  for  Bertie,  though 
I  may  not  always  have  given  expression  to  my  feel 
ings.  If  at  times  I  have  deplored  his  reckless  way- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBBBIUS.  11 

wardness,  and  expostulated  with  him,  genuine  affection 
prompted  me  ;  but  I  promise  you  now,  that  I  will  do 
all  a  sister  possibly  can  for  a  brother.  Trust  me, 
mother  ;  and  rest  in  the  assurance  that  his  welfare 
shall  be  more  to  me  than  my  own ;  that  should  the 
necessity  arise,  I  will  stand  between  him  and  trouble. 
Banish  all  depressing  forebodings.  When  you  are 
strong  and  well,  and  when  I  paint  my  great  picture, 
we  will  buy  a  pretty  cottage  among  the  lilacs  and 
roses,  where  birds  sing  all  day  long,  where  cattlfl 
pasture  in  clover  nooks ;  and  then  Bertie,  your  dar  • 
ling,  shall  never  leave  you  again." 

"  I  do  trust  you,  for  your  promise  means  more  than 
oath  and  vows  from  other  people,  and  if  occasion  de 
mand,  I  know  you  will  guard  my  Bertie,  my  high- 
strung,  passionate,  beautiful  boy !  Your  pretty  cot 
tage  ?  Ah  child  !  when  shall  we  dwell  in  Spain  ?" 

"  Some  day,  some  day  ;  only  be  hopeful,  and  let  me 
find  you  better  when  I  return.  Sleep,  and  dream  of 
our  pretty  cottage.  I  must  hurry  away  with  my 
pictures,  for  this  is  pay  day." 

Tying  the  strings  of  her  hat  under  one  ear,  and 
covering  her  face  with  a  blue  veil,  Beryl  took  a  paste 
board  box  from  a  table,  on  which  lay  brushes  and 
paints,  and  leaving  the  door  a-jar,  went  down  the  nar 
row  stairs. 

At  the  window  of  a  small  hall  on  the  next  floor, 
a  woman  sat  before  her  sewing-machine,  bending  so 
close  to  her  work  that  she  did  not  see  the  tall  form, 
which  paused  before  her,  until  a  hand  was  laid  on  the 
steel  plate. 

"  Mrs.  Emmet,  will  you  please  be  so  good  as  to  go 
up  after  a  while,  and  see  if  mother  needs  anything  ?" 

"  Certainly,  Miss,  if  I  am  here,  but  I  have  some  sew 
ing  to  carry  home  this  afternoon." 


12  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBEKIUS. 

"  I  shall  not  be  absent  more  than  two  hours.  To 
night  I  am  going  South,  to  attend  to  some  business  ; 
and  mother  tells  me  you  have  promised  to  wait  upon 
her,  and  allow  your  daughter  Maggie  to  sleep  on  a 
pallet  by  her  bed,  while  I  am  gone.  I  cannot  tell  you, 
how  grateful  I  shall  be  for  any  kindness  you  may 
show  her,  and  I  wish  you  would  send  the  baby  often 
to  her  room,  as  he  is  so  sweet  and  cunning,  and  his 
merry  ways  amuse  her." 

"  Yes,  I  will  do  all  I  can.  We  poor  folks  who  have 
none  of  this  world's  goods,  ought  to  be  rich  at  least  in 
sympathy  and  pity  for  each  other's  suffering,  for  it  is 
about  all  we  have  to  share.  Don't  you  worry  and  fret, 
for  I  will  see  your  ma  has  what  she  needs.  I  was 
mothered  by  the  best  woman  God  ever  made,  and 
since  she  died,  every  sick  mother  I  see  has  a  sort  of 
claim  on  my  heart." 

Pausing  an  instant,  to  adjust  the  tucker  of  her 
machine,  Mrs.  Emmet  looked  up,  and  involuntarily 
the  women  shook  hands,  as  if  sealing  a  compact. 

It  was  a  long  walk  to  the  building,  whither  Beryl 
directed  her  steps,  and  as  she  passed  through  the  rear 
entrance  of  a  large  and  fashionable  photograph  estab 
lishment,  she  was  surprised  to  find  that  it  was  half- 
past  two  o'clock. 

The  Superintendent  of  the  department,  from  whom 
she  received  her  work,  was  a  man  of  middle-age,  of 
rather  stern  and  forbidding  aspect ;  and  as  she 
approached  his  desk,  he  pointed  to  the  clock  on  the 
mantel-piece. 

"  Barely  time  to  submit  those  types  for  inspection, 
and  have  them  packed  for  the  express  going  East. 
They  are  birthday  gifts,  and  birthdays  have  an  awk 
ward  habit  of  arriving  rigidly  on  time." 

He  unrolled  the  tissue  paper,  and  with  a  magnifying 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  IS 

glass,  carefully  examined  the  pictures ;  then  took 
from  an  envelope  in  the  box,  two  short  pieces  of  hair, 
which  he  compared  with  the  painted  heads  before  him. 

"  Beautifully  done.  The  lace  on  that  child's  dress 
would  bear  even  a  stronger  lense  than  my  glass.  Here 
Patterson,  take  this  box,  and  letter  to  Mr.  Endicott, 
and  if  satisfactory,  carry  them  to  the  packing  counter. 
Shipping  address  is  in  the  letter.  Hurry  up,  my  lad. 
Sit  down,  Miss  Brentano." 

"  Thank  you,  I  am  not  tired.  Mr.  Mansfield,  have 
you  any  good  news  for  me?" 

"  You  mean  those  etchings ;  or  the  designs  for  the 
Christmas  cards  ?  Have  not  heard  a  word,  pro  or 
con.  Guess  no  news  is  good  news;  for  I  notice 
'  rejected '  work  generally  travels  fast,  to  roost  at 
home." 

"  I  thought  the  awards  were  made  last  week,  and 
that  to-day  you  could  tell  me  the  result." 

"  The  awards  have  been  made,  I  presume,  but  who 
owns  the  lucky  cards  is  the  secret  that  has  not  yet 
transpired.  You  young  people  have  no  respect  for 
red  tape,  and  methodical  business  routine.  You  want 
to  clap  spurs  on  fate,  and  make  her  lower  her  own 
last  record  ?  '  Bide  awee.  Bide  aweeV 

"  Winning  this  prize  means  so  much  to  me,  that  I 
confess  I  find  it  very  hard  to  be  patient.  Success  would 
save  me  from  a  painful  and  expensive  journey,  upon 
which  I  must  start  to-night;  and  therefore  I  hoped  so 
earnestly  that  I  might  receive  good  tidings  to-day.  I 
am  obliged  to  go  South  on  an  errand,  which  will 
necessitate  an  absence  of  several  days,  and  if  you 
should  have  any  news  for  me,  keep  it  until  I  call 
again.  If  unfavorable  it  would  depress  my  mother, 
and  therefore  I  prefer  you  should  not  write,  as  of 
course  she  will  open  any  letters  addressed  to  me. 


14  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

Please  save  all  the  work  you  can  for  me,  and  I  will 
come  here  as  soon  as  I  get  back  home." 

"  Very  well.    Any  message,  Patterson  ?" 

"  Mr.  Endicott  said,  '  All  right ;  first-rate ;'  and 
ordered  them  shipped." 

"  Here  is  your  money,  Miss  Brentano.  Better  call 
as  early  as  you  can,  as  I  guess  there  will  be  a  lot  of 
photographs  ready  in  a  few  days.  Good  afternoon." 

"  Thank  you.     Good-bye,  sir." 

From  the  handful  of  small  change,  she  selected  some 
pennies  which  she  slipped  inside  of  her  glove,  and 
dropping  the  remainder  into  her  pocket,  left  the  build 
ing,  and  walked  on  toward  Union  Square.  Absorbed 
in  grave  reflections,  and  oppressed  by  some  vague 
foreboding  of  impending  ill,  dim,  intangible  and 
unlocalized — she  moved  slowly  along  the  crowded 
sidewalk — unconscious  of  the  curious  glances  directed 
toward  her  superb  form,  and  stately  graceful  carriage, 
which  more  than  one  person  turned  and  looked  back 
to  admire,  wondering  when  she  had  stepped  down 
from  some  sacred  Panathenaic  Frieze. 

Near  Madison  Square,  she  paused  before  the  window 
of  a  florist's,  and  raising  her  veil,  gazed  longingly  at 
the  glowing  mass  of  blossoms,  which  Nineteenth  Cen 
tury  skill  and  wealth  in  defiance  of  isothermal  lines,  and 
climatic  limitations  force  into  perfection,  in,  and  out  of 
season.  The  violet  eyes  and  crocus  fingers  of  Spring 
smiled  and  quivered,  at  sight  of  the  crimson  rose  heart, 
and  flaming  paeony  cheeks  of  royal  Summer;  and 
creamy  and  purple  chrysanthemums  that  quill  their 
laces  over  the  russet  robes  of  Autumn,  here  stared  in 
indignant  amazement,  at  the  premature  presumption  of 
snowy  regal  camellias,  audaciously  advancing  to  crown 
the  icy  brows  of  Winter.  All  latitudes,  all  seasons  have 
become  bound  vassals  to  the  great  God  Gold ;  and  his 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  15 

necromancy  furnishes  with  equal  facility  the  dewy 
wreaths  of  orange  flowers  that  perfume  the  filmy 
veils  of  December  brides — and  the  blue  bells  of  spicy 
hyacinths  which  ring  "Rest"  over  the  lily  pillows, 
set  as  tribute  on  the  graves  of  babies,  who  wilt  under 
August  suns. 

From  early  childhood,  an  ardent  love  of  beauty  had 
characterized  this  girl,  whose  covetous  gaze  wandered 
from  a  gorgeous  scarlet  and  gold  orchid  nodding  in 
dreams  of  its  habitat,  in  some  vanilla  scented 
Brazilian  jungle,  to  a  bed  of  vivid  green  moss,  where 
skilful  hands  had  grouped  great  drooping  sprays  of 
waxen  begonias,  coral,  faint  pink,  and  ivory,  all 
powdered  with  gold  dust  like  that,  which  gilds  the 
heart  of  water-lilies. 

Such  treasures  were  reserved  for  the  family  of 
Dives ;  and  counting  her  pennies,  Beryl  entered  the 
store,  where  instantaneously  the  blended  breath  of 
heliotrope,  tube-rose  and  mignonette  wafted  her  across 
the  ocean,  to  a  white-walled  fishing  village  on  the 
Cornice,  whose  gray  rocks  were  kissed  by  the  blue  lips 
of  the  Mediterranean. 

"  What  is  the  price  of  that  cluster  of  Niphetos  buds  ?" 

"One  dollar." 

"And  that  Auratum — with  a  few  rose  geranium 
leaves  added?" 

"  Seventy-five  cents.  You  see  it  is  wonderfully 
large,  and  the  gold  bands  are  so  very  deep." 

She  put  one  hand  in  her  pocket  and  fingered  a 
silver  coin,  but  poverty  is  a  grim,  tyrannous  step 
mother  to  tender  aestheticism,  and  prudential  con 
siderations  prevailed. 

"Give  me  twenty-five  cents  worth  of  those  pale 
blue  double  violets,  with  a  sprig  of  lemon  verbena,  and 
a  fringe  of  geranium  leaves." 


10  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

She  laid  the  money  on  the  counter,  and  while  the 
florist  selected  and  bound  the  blossoms  into  a  bunch, 
she  arrested  his  finishing-  touch. 

"  Wait  a  moment.  How  much  more  for  one  Grand 
Duke  jasmine  in  the  centre  ?" 

"Ten  cents,  Miss." 

She  added  the  dime  to  the  pennies  she  could  ill 
afford  to  spare  from  her  small  hoard,  and  said :  "  Will 
you  be  so  kind  as  to  sprinkle  it  ?  I  wish  it  kept  fresh, 
for  a  sick  lady." 

Dusky  shadows  were  gathering  in  the  gloomy  hall 
of  the  old  tenement  house,  when  Beryl  opened  the  door 
of  the  comfortless  attic  room,  where  for  many  months 
she  had  struggled  bravely  to  shield  her  mother  from 
the  wolf,  that  more  than  once  snarled  across  the 
threshold. 

Mrs.  Brentano  was  sitting  in  a  low  chair,  with  her 
elbows  on  her  knees,  her  face  hidden  in  her  palms;  and 
in  her  lap  lay  paper  and  pencil,  while  a  sealed  letter 
had  fallen  on  the  ground  beside  her.  At  the  sound  of 
the  opening  door,  she  lifted  her  head,  and  tears 
dripped  upon  the  paper.  In  her  faded  flannel  dress 
ing-gown,  with  tresses  of  black  hair  straggling  across 
her  shoulders,  she  presented  a  picture  of  helpless 
mental  and  physical  woe,  which  painted  itself  indelibly 
on  the  panels  of  her  daughter's  heart. 

"  Why  did  you  not  wait  until  I  came  home  ?  The 
exertion  of  getting  up  always  fatigues  you." 

"You  staid  so  long — and  I  am  so  uncomfortable  in 
that  wretchedly  hard  bed.  What  detained  you  ?" 

"  I  went  to  see  the  Doctor,  because  I  am  unwilling 
to  start  away,  without  having  asked  his  advice ;  and 
he  has  prescribed  some  new  medicine  which  you  will 
£nd  in  this  bottle.  The  directions  are  marked  on  the 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  1 

label.    Now  I  will  put  things  in  order,  and  try  my 
hands  on  that  refractory  bed." 

"  What  did  the  Doctor  say  about  me  ?" 

"  Nothing  new  ;  but  he  is  confident  that  you  can  bi 
cured  in  time,  if  we  will  only  be  patient  and  obedient 
He  promised  to  see  you  in  the  morning." 

She  stripped  the  bed  of  its  covering,  shook  bolster 
and  pillows;  turned  over  the  mattress,  and  beat 
it  vigorously;  then  put  on  fresh  sheets,  and  adjusted 
the  whole  comfortably. 

"  Now  mother,  turn  your  head,  and  let  me  comb  and 
brush  and  braid  all  this  glossy  black  satin,  to  keep  it 
from  tangling  while  I  am  away.  What  a  pity  you 
did  not  dower  your  daughter  with  part  of  it,  instead  ol 
this  tawny  mane  of  mine,  which  is  a  constant  affront 
to  my  fastidious  artistic  instincts.  Please  keep  still  a 
moment." 

She  unwrapped  the  tissue  paper  that  covered  her 
flowrers,  and  holding  her  hands  behind  her,  stepped  in 
front  of  the  invalid. 

"  Dear  mother,  shut  your  eyes.  There — !  of  what 
does  that  remind  you  ?  The  pergola — with  great 
amber  grape  clusters — and  white  stars  of  jasmine 
shining  through  the  leaves?  All  the  fragrance  of 
Italy  sleeps  in  the  thurible  of  this  Grand-Duke." 

"  How  delicious  !  Ah,  my  extravagant  child  !  we 
cannot  afford  such  luxuries  now.  The  perfume  recalls 
so  vividly  the  time  when  Bertie — " 

A  sob  cut  short  the  sentence.  Beryl  pinned  the 
flowers  at  her  mother's  throat,  kissed  her  cheek,  and 
kneeling  before  her,  crossed  her  arms  on  the  invalid's 
lap,  resting  there  the  noble  head,  with  its  burnished 
crown  of  reddish  bronze  braids. 

"  Mother  dear,  humor  my  childish  whim.  In  defi 
ance  of  my  wishes  and  judgment,  and  solely  in  obedi- 


18  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

ence  to  your  command,  I  am  leaving-  you  for  the  first 
time,  on  a  bitterly  painful  and  humiliating-  mission. 
To-night,  let  me  be  indeed  your  little  girl  once  more. 
My  heart  brings  me  to  your  knees,  to  say  my 
prayers  as  of  yore,  and  now  while  I  pray,  lay  your 
dear  pretty  hands  on  my  head.  It  will  seem  like  a 
parting-  benediction ;  a  veritable  Nunc  dimittis." 


CHAPTER  II. 

"T  do  not  want  a  carriage.    If  the  distance  is  only  a 

•*•  mile  and  a  half,  I  can  easily  walk.  After  leaving 
town,  is  there  a  straight  road  ?" 

"  Straight  as  the  crow  flies,  when  you  have  passed 
the  factory,  and  cemetery,  and  turned  to  the  left. 
There  is  a  little  Branch  running  at  the  foot  of  the  hill, 
and  just  across  it,  you  will  see  the  white  palings,  and 
che  big  gate  with  stone  pillars,  and  two  tremendous 
\orass  dogs  on  top,  showing  their  teeth  and  ready  to 
spring.  There's  no  mistaking  the  place,  because  it  is 
the  only  one  left  in  the  country  that  looks  like  the  good 
old  times  before  the  war ;  and  the  Yankees  would  not 
have  spared  it,  had  it  not  been  such  comfortable  bomb 
proof  headquarters  for  their  officers.  It's  our  sho^ 
place  now,  and  General  Darrington  keeps  it  up  in  bet 
ter  style,  than  any  other  estate  I  know." 

"  Thank  you.    I  will  find  it." 

Beryl  walked  away  in  the  direction  indicated,  and  the 
agent  of  the  Railway  Station,  leaning  against  the  door 
of  the  baggag-e  room,  looked  with  curious  scrutiny 
after  her. 

"  I  should  like  to  know  who  she  is.    No  ordinary 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  19 

person,  that  is  clear.  Such  a  grand  figure  and  walk, 
and  such  a  steady  look  in  her  big  solemn  eyes,  aa 
if  she  saw  straight  through  a  person,  clothes,  flesh 
and  all.  Wonder  what  her  business  can  be  with  the 
old  General?" 

From  early  childhood  Beryl  had  listened  so  intently 
to  her  mother's  glowing  descriptions  of  the  beauty  ancl 
elegance  of  her  old  home  "  Elm  Bluff,"  that  she  soon 
began  to  identify  the  land-marks  along  the  road,  after 
passing  the  cemetery,  where  so  many  generations  of 
Darringtons  slept  in  one  corner,  enclosed  by  a  loftj 
iron  railing ;  exclusive  in  death  as  in  life  ;  jealously 
guarded  and  locked  from  contact  with  the  surrounding 
dwellers  in  "  God's  Acre." 

The  October  day  had  begun  quite  cool  and  crisp, 
with  a  hint  of  frost  in  its  dewy  sparkle,  but  as  though 
vanquished  Summer  had  suddenly  faced  about,  and 
charged  furiously  to  cover  her  retreat,  the  South  wind 
came  heavily  laden  with  hot  vapor  from  equatorial 
oceanic  caldrons  ;  and  now  the  afternoon  sun,  glowing 
in  a  cloudless  sky,  shed  a  yellowish  glare  that  burned 
and  tingled  like  the  breath  of  a  furnace ;  while  along 
the  horizon,  a  dim  dull  haze  seemed  blotting  out  the 
boundary  of  earth  and  sky. 

A  portion  of  the  primeval  pine  forest  having  been 
preserved,  the  trees  had  attained  gigantic  height, 
thrusting  their  plumy  heads  heavenward,  as  their 
lower  limbs  died;  and  year  after  year  the  mellow 
brown  carpet  of  reddish  straw  deepened,  forming  a 
soft  safe  nidus  for  the  seeds,  that  sprang  up  and 
now  gratefully  embroidered  it  with  masses  of  golden 
rod,  starry  white  asters,  and  tall  feathery  spikes  of 
some  velvety  purple  bloom,  which  looked  royal  by 
the  side  of  a  cluster  of  belated  evening  primroses. 

Pausing  on  the  small  but  pretty  rustic  bridge,  Beryl 


20  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

leaned  against  the  interlacing  cedar  boughs  twisted 
into  a  balustrade,  and  looked  down  at  the  winding 
stream,  where  the  clear  water  showed  amber  hues, 
flecked  with  glinting  foam  bubbles,  as  it  lapped  and 
gurgled,  eddied  and  sang,  over  its  bed  of  yellow 
gravel.  Unacquainted  with  "  piney-woods'  branch 
es,"  she  was  charmed  by  the  novel  golden  brown 
wavelets  that  frothed  against  the  pillars  of  the  bridge, 
and  curled  caressingly  about  the  broad  emerald  fronds 
of  luxuriant  ferns,  which  hung  Narcissus-like  over 
their  own  graceful  quivering  images.  Profound  quiet 
brooded  in  the  warm  hazy  air,  burdened  with  balsamic 
odors ;  but  once  a  pine  burr  full  of  rich  nutty  mast 
crashed  down  through  dead  twigs,  bruising  the  satin 
petals  of  a  primrose ;  and  ever  and  anon  the  oboe  notes 
of  that  shy,  deep  throated  hermit  of  ravines — the  rus 
set,  speckled-breasted  lark — thrilled  through  the 
woods,  like  antiphonal  echoes  in  some  vast,  cool,  col 
umned  cloister. 

The  perfect  tranquillity  of  the  scene  soothed  the 
travel- weary  woman,  as  though  nestling  so  close 
to  the  great  heart  of  nature,  had  stilled  the  fierce 
throbbing,  and  banished  the  gloomy  forebodings  of 
her  own  ;  and  she  walked  on,  through  the  iron  gate, 
where  the  bronze  mastiffs  glared  warningly  from 
tneir  granite  pedestal — on  into  the  large  undulating 
park,  which  stretched  away  to  meet  the  line  of  primi 
tive  pines.  There  was  no  straight  avenue,  but  a  broad 
smooth  carriage  road  curved  gently  up  a  hill  side,  and 
on  both  margins  of  the  gravelled  way  ancient  elm 
trees  stood  at  regular  intervals,  throwing  their 
boughs  across,  to  unite  in  lifting  the  superb  groined 
arches,  whose  line  tracery  of  sinuous  lines  was  here 
and  there  concealed  by  clustering  mistletoe — and  gray 
lichen  masses — and  ornamented  with  bosses  of  velvet 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  21 

moss ;  while  the  venerable  columnar  trunks  were  now 
and  then  wreathed  with  poison-oak  vines,  where  red 
trumpet  flowers  insolently  blared  defiance  to  the  wax 
en  pearls  of  encroaching1  mistletoe. 

On  either  side,  the  grounds  were  studded  with 
native  growth,  as  though  protective  forestry  statutes 
had  crossed  the  ocean  with  the  colonists,  and  on  this 
billowy  sea  of  varied  foliage  Autumn  had  set  her 
illuminated  autograph,  in  the  vivid  scarlet  of  sumach 
and  black  gum,  the  delicate  lemon  of  wild  cherry — the 
deep  ochre  all  sprinkled  and  splashed  with  intense 
crimson,  of  the  giant  oaks — the  orange  glow  of  ances 
tral  hickory — and  the  golden  glory  of  maples,  on 
which  the  hectic  fever  of  the  dying  year  kindled 
gleams  of  fiery  red  ; — over  all,  a  gorgeous  blazonry  of 
riotous  color,  toned  down  by  the  silver  gray  shadows 
of  mossy  tree-trunks,  and  the  rich,  dark,  restful  green 
of  polished  magnolias. 

Half  a  dozen  fine  Cotswold  ewes  browsed  on  the 
grass,  and  the  small  bell  worn  by  a  staid  dowager 
tinkled  musically,  as  she  threw  up  her  head  and 
watched  suspiciously  the  figure  moving  under  the  elm 
arches.  Beneath  the  far  reaching  branches  of  a 
patriarchal  cedar,  a  small  herd  of  Jersey  calves  had 
grouped  themselves,  as  if  posing  for  Landseer  or 
Rosa  Bonheur  ;  and  one  pretty  fawn-colored  weanling 
ran  across  the  sward  to  meet  the  stranger,  bleating  a 
welcome  and  looking  up,  with  unmistakable  curiosity 
in  its  velvety,  long  lashed -eyes. 

As  the  avenue  gradually  climbed  the  ascent,  the 
outlines  of  the  house  became  visible  ;  a  stately  typical 
Southern  mansion,  like  hundreds,  which  formerly 
opened  hospitably  their  broad  mahogany  doors,  and 
which  alas  !  are  becoming  traditional  to  this  genera 
tion — obsolete  as  the  brave,  chivalric,  warm-hearted, 


22  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

open-handed,  noble-souled,  refined  Southern  gentle 
men  who  built  and  owned  them.  No  Mansard  roof 
here,  no  pseudo  "  Queen  Anne  "  hybrids,  with  lower 
ing1,  top-heavy  projections  like  scowling-  eyebrows  over 
squinting  eyes;  neither  mongrel  Renaissance,  nor 
feeble  sickly  imitation  Elizabethan  fagades,  and 
Tudor  towers  ;  none  of  the  queer,  composite,  freakish 
impertinences  of  architectural  style,  which  now-a-day 
do  duty  as  the  adventurous  vanguard,  the  aesthetic 
vedettes  "making  strait  the  way,"  for  the  coming 
cohorts  of  Culture. 

The  house  at  "  Elm  Bluff  "  was  built  of  brick,  over 
cast  with  stucco  painted  in  imitation  of  gray  granite, 
and  its  foundation  was  only  four  feet  high,  resting 
upon  a  broad  terrace  of  brick-work  ;  the  latter  bound 
ed  by  a  graceful  wooden  balustrade,  with  pedestals  for 
vases,  on  either  side  of  the  two  stone  steps  leading 
down  from  the  terrace  to  the  carriage  drive.  The 
central  halls  in  both  stories,  divided  the  space  equally 
into  four  rooms  on  each  side,  and  along  the  wide 
front,  ran  a  lofty  piazza  supporting  the  roof,  with 
white  smooth  round  pillars ;  while  the  upper  broad 
square  windows,  cedar-framed  and  deeply  embrasured, 
looked  down  on  the  floor  of  the  piazza,  where  so  many 
generations  of  Darringtons  had  trundled  hoops  in 
childhood — and  promenaded  as  lovers  in  the  silvery 
moonlight,  listening  to  the  ring  doves  cooing  above 
them,  from  the  columbary  of  the  stucco  capitals. 
This  spacious  colonnade  extended  around  the  northern 
and  eastern  side  of  the  house,  but  the  western  end 
had  formerly  been  enclosed  as  a  conservatory — which 
having  been  abolished,  was  finally  succeeded  by  a 
comparatively  modern  iron  veranda,  with  steps  lead 
ing  down  to  the  terrace.  In  front  of  the  building,  l>e- 
tween  the  elin  avenue  and  the  flower-bordered  terrace, 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  23 

stood  a  row  of  very  old  poplar  trees,  tall  as  their 
forefathers  in  Lombardy,  and  to  an  iron  staple  driven 
into  one  of  these,  a  handsome  black  horse  was  now 
fastened. 

Standing  with  one  foot  on  the  terrace  step,  close  to 
the  marble  vases  where  heliotropes  swung  their  dainty 
lilac  chalices  against  her  shoulder,  and  scarlet  geran 
iums  stared  unabashed,  Beryl's  gaze  wandered  from 
the  lovely  park  and  ancient  trees,  to  the  unbroken 
facade  of  the  gray  old  house ;  and  as,  in  painful  con 
trast  she  recalled  the  bare  bleak  garret  room,  where 
a  beloved  invalid  held  want  and  death  at  bay,  a  sudden 
mist  clouded  her  vision,  and  almost  audibly  she 
murmured  :  "  My  poor  mother !  Now,  I  can  realize  the 
uitterness  of  your  suffering;  now  I  understand  the 
intensity  of  your  yearning  to  come  back ;  the  terrible 
Uome-sickness,  which  only  heaven  can  cure." 

What  is  presentiment?  The  swaying  of  the  veil  of 
futurity,  under  the  straining  hands  of  our  guardian 
angels  ?  Is  it  the  faint  shadow,  the  solemn  rustle  of 
fcheir  hovering  wings,  as  like  mother  birds  they  spread 
protecting  plumes  between  blind  fledglings,  and  de 
scending  ruin?  Will  theosophy  ever  explain  and 
augment  prescience  ? 

"  It  may  be — 

The  thoughts  that  visit  us,  we  know  not,  whence, 
Sudden  as  inspiration,  are  the  whispers 
Of  disembodied  spirits,  speaking  to  us 
As  friends,  who  wait  outside  a  prison  wall, 
Through  the  barred  windows  speak  to  those  within." 

With  difficulty  Beryl  resisted  an  inexplicable  im 
pulse  to  turn  and  flee ;  but  the  drawn  word  of  duty 
pointed  ahead. 

Striking  her  hands  together,  as  if  thereby  crushing 
her  reluctance  to  enter,  she  waited  a  moment,  with 


24:  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

closed  eyes,  while  her  lips  moved  in  silent  prayer ; 
then  ascending-  the  terrace,  she  crossed  the  stone 
pavement,  walked  up  the  steps  and  slowly  advanced 
to  the  threshold.  The  dark  mahogany  door  was  so 
glossy,  that  she  dimly  saw  her  own  image  on  its 
polished  panels,  as  she  lifted  and  let  fall  the  heavy 
silver  knocker,  in  the  middle  of  an  oval  silver  plate, 
around  the  edges  of  which  were  raised  the  square 
letters  of  the  name  "Darrington."  The  clanging 
sound  startled  a  peacock,  strutting  among  the  verbena 
beds,  arid  his  shrill  scream  was  answered  by  the  deep 
hoarse  bark  of  some  invisible  dog ;  then  the  heavy 
door  swung  open,  and  a  gray-headed  negro  man,  who 
wore  a  white  linen  apron  over  his  black  clothes,  and 
held  a  waiter  in  one  hand,  stood  before  her. 

"  I  wish  to  see  Mr.  Darrington." 

"  I  reckon  you  mean  Gin'l  Darrington,  don't  you  ? 
Mr.  Darrington,  Marse  Prince  Darrington,  is  in 
Yurope." 

"  I  mean  Mr.  Luke  Darrington,  the  owner  of  this 
place." 

1 '  Jess  so ;  Gin'l  Luke  Darrington.  Well,  you  can't 
see  him." 

"  Why  not  ?  I  must  see  him,  and  I  shall  stay  here 
until  I  do." 

"  'Cause  he  is  busy  with  his  lie-yer,  fixin*  of  some 
papers  ;  and  when  he  tells  me  not  to  let  nobody  else 
in  I'de  ruther  set  down  in  a  yaller  jacket's  nest  than 
to  turn  the  door  knob,  after  he  done  shut  it.  Better 
leave  your  name  and  call  agin." 

"No,  1  will  wait  until  he  is  at  leisure.  I  presume 
my  sitting-  on  the  steps  here  will  not  be  a  violation  of 
your  orders." 

"  To  be  shore  not.  But  them  steps  are  harder  than 
the  stool  of  repentance,  and  you  had  better  walk  in 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBEBIUS.  25 

the  drawing-room,  and  rest  yourself.  There's  pictures, 
and  lots  and  piles  of  things  there,  you  can  pass  away 
the  time  looking  at." 

He  waved  his  waiter  toward  a  long  dim  apartment, 
on  the  left  side  of  the  hall. 

"  Thank  you,  I  prefer  to  sit  here." 

She  seated  herself  on  the  top  of  the  stone  steps,  and 
taking  off  her  straw  hat,  fanned  her  heated  brow, 
where  the  rich  waving  hair  clung  in  damp  masses. 

"  What  name,  miss,  must  I  give,  when  the  lie-yer 
finishes  his  bizness  ?" 

"  Say  that  c,  stranger  wishes  to  see  him  about  an 
important  matter." 

"  It  is  mighty  oncertain  how  long  he  will  tarry;  for 
lie-yers  live  by  talking ;  turning  of  words  upside  down, 
and  wrong  side  outards,  and  reading  words  backards, 
and  whitewashing  black  things,  and  smutting  of  white 
ones.  Marse  Lennox  Dunbar  (he  is  our  lie-yer  now, 
since  his  pa  took  paralsis)  he  is  a  powerful  wrastler 
with  justice.  They  do  say  down  yonder,  at  the  Court 
House,  that  when  he  gets  done  with  a  witness,  and 
turns  him  aloose,  the  poor  creetur  is  so  flustrated  in 
his  mind,  that  he  don't  know  his  own  name,  or  when 
he  was  born,  or  where  he  was  born,  or  whether  he 
ever  was  born  at  all." 

Curiosity  to  discover  the  nature  of  the  stranger's 
errand  had  stimulated  the  old  man's  garrulity,  but 
receiving  no  reply,  he  finally  retreated,  leaving  the 
front  door  open.  By  the  aid  of  a  disfiguring  scar  on 
his  furrowed  cheek,  Beryl  recognized  him  as  the  brave, 
faithful,  family  coachman  Abednego  (abbreviated  to 
"  Bedney  ") — who  had  once  saved  her  mother's  life  at 
the  risk  of  his  own.  Mrs.  Brentano  had  often  related 
to  her  children,  an  episode  in  her  childhood,  when  hav- 
'ng  gone  to  play  with  her  dolls  in  the  loft  of  the  stable, 


26  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

she  fell  asleep  on  the  hay;  and  two  hours  later,  Bedney 
remembering  that  he  had  heard  her  singing  there  to 
her  dolls,  rushed  into  the  burning  building,  groped 
through  the  stifling  smoke  of  the  loft,  and  seizing  the 
sleeping  child,  threw  her  out  upon  a  pile  of  straw. 
When  he  attempted  to  jump  after  her,  a  falling  rafter 
struck  him  to  the  earth,  and  left  an  honorable  scar  in 
attestation  of  his  heroism. 

Had  she  yielded  to  the  promptings  of  her  heart,  the 
stranger  would  gladly  have  shaken  hands  with  him , 
and  thanked  him,  in  the  name  of  those  early  years, 
when  her  mother's  childish  feet  made  music  on  the 
wide  mahogany  railed  stairs,  that  wound  from  the 
lower  hall  to  the  one  above  ;  but  the  fear  of  bein& 
denied  an  audience,  deterred  her  from  disclosing  hei 
name. 

Educated  in  the  belief  that  the  utterance  of  then 
abhorred  name  of  Brentano,  within  the  precincts  of 
"  Elm  Bluff,"  would  produce  an  effect  very  similar  to 
the  ringing  of  some  Tamil  Pariah's  bell,  before  the 
door  of  a  Brahman  temple,  Beryl  wisely  kept  silent ; 
and  soon  forgot  her  forebodings,  in  the  contemplation 
of  the  supreme  loveliness  of  the  prospect  before  her. 

The  elevation  was  sufficient  to  command  an  ex 
tended  view  of  the  surrounding  country,  and  of  the 
river,  which  crossed  by  the  railroad  bridge  north  of 
the  town,  curved  sharply  to  the  east,  whence  she 
could  trace  its  course  as  it  gradually  wound  south 
ward,  and  disappeared  behind  the  house  ;  where  at 
the  foot  of  a  steep  bluff,  a  pretty  boat  and  bath  house 
nestled  under  ancient  willow  trees.  At  her  feet  the 
foliage  of  the  park  stretched  like  some  brilliant  carpet, 
before  whose  gorgeous  tints,  ustdds  of  Karman  would 
have  stood  in  despair;  and  beyond  the  sea-green, 
undulating  line  of  pine  forest,  she  saw  the  steeple  of 


AT   THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  27 

a  church,  with  its  gilt  vane  burning-  in  the  sunshine, 
and  the  red  brick  dome  of  the  ante  bellum  Court 
house. 

Time  seemed  to  have  fallen  asleep,  on  that  hot,  still 
afternoon,  and  Beryl  was  aroused  from  her  reverie, 
by  the  sound  of  hearty  laughter  in  the  apartment, 
opposite  the  drawing-room — followed  by  the  tones  of 
a  man's  voice : 

"  Thank  you,  General.  That  is  my  destination  this 
afternoon,  and  I  shall  certainly  expect  you  to  dance 
at  my  wedding." 

Quick,  firm  steps  rang  on  the  oil-cloth-covered  floor 
of  the  hall,  and  Beryl  rose  and  turned  toward  the 
door. 

With  a  cigar  in  one  hand,  hat  and  riding- whip  in 
the  other,  the  attorney  stepped  out  on  the  colonnade, 
and  pausing  involuntarily,  at  sight  of  the  stranger, 
they  looked  at  each  other.  A  man,  perhaps  more, 
certainly  not  less  than  thirty  years  old,  of  powerful 
And  impressive  physique ;  very  tall,  athletic,  sinewy, 
without  an  ounce  of  superfluous  flesh  to  encumber  his 
movements,  in  the  professional  palaestra;  with  a  large 
finely  modeled  head,  whose  crisp  black  hair  closely  cut, 
was  (contrary  to  the  prevailing  fashion)  parted  neither 
in  the  middle,  nor  yet  on  the  side,  but  brushed 
straight  back  from  a  square  forehead,  thereby  en 
hancing  the  massiveness  of  its  appearance. 

Something  in  this  swart,  beardless  face,  with  its 
brilliant  inquisitorial  dark  blue  eyes,  handsome  secre 
tive  mouth  veiled  by  no  mustache — and  boldly  asser 
tive  chin  deeply  cleft  in  the  centre — affected  Beryl  very 
unpleasantly,  as  a  perplexing  disagreeable  memory  ; 
an  uncanny  resemblance  hovering  just  beyond  the 
grasp  of  identification.  A  feeling  of  unaccountable 
repulsion  made  her  shiver,  and  she  breathed  more 


28  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

freely,  when  he  bowed  slightly,  and  walked  on 
toward  his  horse.  Upon  the  attorney  her  extraordinary 
appearance  produced  a  profound  impression,  and  in 
his  brief  scrutiny,  no  detail  of  her  face,  figure  or 
apparel  escaped  his  keen  probing  gaze. 

Glancing  back  as  he  untied  his  bridle  rein,  his 
unspoken  comment  was :  "  Superb  woman;  I  wonder 
what  brings  her  here?  Evidently  a  stranger — with 
a  purpose." 

He  sprang  into  the  saddle,  stooped  his  head  to 
avoid  the  yellow  poplar  branches,  and  disappeared 
under  the  elm  arches. 

"  Gin'l  Darrington's  compliments;  and  if  your  biz- 
ness  is  pressin'  you  will  have  to  see  him  in  his  bed 
charmber,  as  he  feels  poorly  to-day,  and  the  Doctor 
won't  let  him  out.  Follow  me.  You  see,  ole  Marster 
remembers  the  war  by  the  game  leg  he  got  at  Sharps- 
burg,  and  sometimes  it  lays  him  up." 

The  old  servant  lead  Beryl  through  a  long  room, 
fitted  up  as  library  and  armory,  and  pausing  before 
an  open  door,  waved  her  into  the  ad  joining  apartment. 
One  swift  glance  showed  her  the  heavy  canopied  bed 
stead  in  one  corner,  the  arch-shaped  glass  door 
leading  out  upon  the  iron  veranda;  and  at  an  oblong 
table  in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  the  figure  of  a  man, 
who  rose,  taller  and  taller,  until  he  seemed  a  giant, 
drawn  to  his  full  height,  and  resting  for  support  on  the 
hand  that  was  pressed  upon  the  table.  Intensity  of 
emotion  arrested  her  breath,  as  she  gazed  at  the 
silvered  head,  piercing  black  eyes,  and  spare  wasted 
frame  of  the  handsome  man,  who  had  always  reigned 
as  a  brutal  ogre  in  her  imagination.  The  fire  in  his 
somewhat  sunken  eyes,  seemed  to  bid  defiance  to  the 
whiteness  of  the  abundant  hair,  and  of  the  heavy 
mustache  which  drooped  over  his  lips;  and  every 


AT  THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  29 

feature  in  his  patrician  face  revealed  not  only  a  long 
line  of  blue-blooded  ancestors,  but  the  proud  haughti 
ness  which  had  been  considered  always  as  distinctively 
characteristic  of  t  he  Barring-tons,  as  their  finely  cut 
lips,  thin  nostrils,  small  feet  and  unusual  height. 

Unprepared  for  the  apparition  that  confronted  him, 
Luke  Darrington  bowed  low,  surveyed  her  intently, 
then  pointed  to  a  chair  opposite  his  own. 

"  Walk  in,  Madam;  or  perhaps  it  may  be  Miss  ?  Will 
you  take  a  seat,  and  excuse  the  feebleness  that  forces 
me  to  receive  visits  in  my  bed-room  ?" 

As  he  reseated  himself,  Beryl  advanced  and  stood 
beside  him,  but  for  a  moment  she  found  it  impossible 
to  utter  the  words,  rehearsed  so  frequently  during  her 
journey;  and  while  she  hesitated,  he  curiously  inspected 
her  face  and  form. 

Her  plain,  but  perfectly  fitting  bunting  dress  was  of 
the  color,  popularly  denominated  "  navy-blue,"  and 
the  linen  collar  and  cuffs  were  scarcely  whiter  than 
the  round  throat  and  wrists  they  encircled.  The  bur 
nished  auburn  hair  clinging  in  soft  waves  to  her  brow, 
was  twisted  into  a  heavy  coil,  which  the  long  walk 
had  shaken  down,  till  it  rested  almost  on  her  neck; 
and  though  her  heart  beat  furiously,  the  pale  calm 
face  might  have  been  marble,  save  for  the  scarlet  lines 
of  her  beautiful  mouth,  and  the  steady  glow  of  the 
dilated  pupils  in  her  great  grey  eyes. 

"Pray  be  seated;  and  tell  me  to  whom  I  am  in 
debted  for  the  pleasure  of  this  visit  ?" 

"  I  am  merely  the  bearer  of  a  letter  which  will 
explain  itself,  and  my  presence,  in  your  house." 

Mechanically  he  took  the  proffered  letter,  and  with 
his  eyes  still  lingering  in  admiration  upon  the  classic 
outlines  of  her  face  and  form,  leaned  back  comfortably 
against  the  velvet  lining  of  his  arm-chair. 


80  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"Are  you  some  exiled  Goddess  travelling  incog 
nito?  If  we  lived  in  the  '  piping  days  of  Pan '  I  should 
flatter  myself  that  '  Ox-eyed  Juno '  had  honored  me 
with  a  call,  as  a  reward  for  my  care  of  her  favorite 
bird." 

Receiving  no  reply,  he  glanced  at  the  envelope  in 
his  hand,  and  as  he  read  the  address — "  To  my  dear 
father,  Gen'l  Luke  Darrington  " — the  smile  on  his  face 
changed  to  a  dark  scowl,  and  he  tossed  the  letter  to 
the  floor,  as  if  it  were  a  red-hot  coal. 

"Only  one  living  being  has  the  right  to  call  me 
father — my  son,  Prince  Darrington.  I  have  repeatedly 
refused  to  hold  any  communication  with  the  person 
who  wrote  that  letter." 

Beryl  stooped  to  pick  it  up,  and  with  a  caressing 
touch,  as  though  it  were  sentient,  held  it  against  her 
heart. 

"Your  daughter  is  dying;  and  this  is  her  last 
appeal." 

"  I  have  no  daughter.  Twenty-three  years  ago  my 
daughter  buried  herself  in  hopeless  disgrace,  and  for 
her  there  can  be  no  resurrection  here.  If  she  dreams 
that  I  am  in  my  dotage,  and  may  relent,  she  strangely 
forgets  the  nature  of  the  blood  she  saw  fit  to  cross 
with  that  of  a  beggarly  foreign  scrub.  Go  back  and 
tell  her,  the  old  man  is  not  yet  senile  and  imbecile; 
and  that  the  years  have  only  hardened  his  heart.  Tell 
her,  I  have  almost  learned  to  forget  even  how  she 
looked." 

His  eyes  showed  a  dull  reddish  fire,  like  those  of 
some  drowsy  caged  tiger,  suddenly  stirred  into  wrath, 
and  a  grayish  pallor — the  white-heat  of  the  Darring- 
tons — settled  on  his  face. 

Twice  Beryl  walked  the  length  of  the  room,  but 
each  time  the  recollection  of  her  mother's  tearful 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  31 

suffering  countenance,  and  the  extremity  of  her  need, 
drove  her  back  to  the  arm-chair. 

"  If  you  knew  that  your  daughter's  life  hung  by  a 
thread,  would  you  deliberately  take  a  pair  of  shears 
and  cut  it?" 

He  glared  at  her  in  silence,  and  leaning  forward  on 
the  table,  pushed  roughly  aside  a  salver,  on  which 
stood  a  decanter  and  two  wine  glasses. 

'  *  I  am  here  to  tell  you  a  solemn  truth;  then  my 
responsibility  ends.  Your  daughter's  life  rests  literally 
in  your  hands  ;  for  unless  you  consent  to  furnish  the 
money  to  pay  for  a  surgical  operation,  which  may 
restore  her  health,  she  will  certainly  die.  I  am 
indulging  in  no  exaggeration  to  extort  alms.  In  this 
letter  is  the  certificate  of  a  distinguished  physician, 
corroborating  my  statement.  If  you,  the  author  of  her 
being,  prefer  to  hasten  her  death,  then  your  choice  of 
an  awful  revenge  must  be  settled  between  your  hard 
ened  conscience  and  your  God." 

"  You  are  bold  indeed,  to  beard  me  in  my  own  house, 
and  tell  me  to  my  face  what  no  man  would  dare  to 
utter." 

His  voice  was  an  angry  pant,  and  he  struck  his 
clinched  hand  on  the  table,  with  a  force  that  made 
the  glasses  jingle,  and  the  sherry  dance  in  the 
decanter. 

"  Yes,  you  scarcely  realize  how  much  bravery  this 
painful  errand  demands;  but  the  tender  love  in  a 
woman's  heart  nerves  her  to  bear  fiery  ordeals,  that 
vanquish  a  man's  courage." 

"  Then  you  find  that  age  has  not  drawn  the  fangs 
from  the  old  crippled  Darrington  lion,  nor  clipped  his 
claws?" 

The  sneer  curved  his  white  mustache,  until  she  saw 
the  outline  of  the  narrow,  bloodless  under  lip. 


82  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"  That  king-  of  beasts  scorns  to  redden  his  fangs,  or 
flesh  his  claws,  in  the  quivering1  body  of  his  own  off 
spring.  Your  metaphor  is  an  insult  to  natural 
instincts." 

She  laid  the  letter  once  more  before  him,  and  looked 
down  on  him,  with  ill-concealed  aversion. 

"Who  are  you  ?  By  what  right  dare  you  intrude 
upon  me?" 

"I  am  merely  a  sorrowful,  anxious,  poverty- 
stricken  woman,  whose  heart  aches  over  her 
mother's  sufferings,  and  who  would  never  have  en 
dured  the  humiliation  of  this  interview,  except  to 
deliver  a  letter  in  the  hope  of  prolonging  my  mother's 
life." 

"  You  do  not  mean  that  you  are — my — " 

"  I  am  nothing  to  you,  sir,  but  the  bearer  of  a  letter 
from  your  dying  daughter." 

"You  cannot  be  the  child  of— of  Ellice  ?" 

After  the  long  limbo  of  twenty-three  years,  the  name 
burst  from  him,  and  with  what  a  host  of  memories  its 
echo  peopled  the  room,  where  that  erring  daughter  had 
formerly  reigned  queen  of  his  heart. 

"Yes,  Ellice  is  my  dear  mother's  name." 

He  stared  at  the  majestic  form,  and  at  the  faultless 
face  looking  so  proudly  down  upon  him,  as  from  an 
inaccessible  height;  and  she  heard  him  draw  his 
breath,  with  a  labored  hissing  sound. 

"  But — I  thought  her  child  was  a  boy?" 

"  I  am  the  youngest  of  two  children." 

"  It  is  impossible  that  you  are  the  daughter  of  that 
infernal,  low-born,  fiddling-  foreign  vagabond  who — " 

1  i  Hush  !     The  dead  are  sacred  !" 

She  threw  up  her  hand,  with  an  imperious  gesture, 
not  of  deprecation,  but  interdict;  and  all  the  stony 
calm  in  her  pale  face,  seemed  shivered  by  a  passionate 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  33 

gust,  that  made  her  eyes  gleam  like  steel  under  an 
electric  flash. 

"I  am  the  daughter  of  Ignace  Brentano,  and  I 
love,  and  honor  his  memory,  and  his  name.  No  drop 
of  your  Darrington  blood  runs  in  my  veins ;  I  love  my 
dear  mother — but  I  am  my  father's  daughter — and  I 
want  no  nobler  heritage  than  his  name.  Upon  you  I 
have  no  shadow  of  claim,  but  I  am  here  from  dire 
necessity,  at  your  mercy — a  helpless,  defenceless 
pleader  in  my  mother's  behalf — and  as  such,  I  appeal 
to  the  boasted  Southern  chivalry,  upon  which  you 
pride  yourself,  for  immunity  from  insult  while  I  am 
under  your  roof.  Since  I  stood  no  taller  than  your 
knee,  my  mother  has  striven  to  inculcate  a  belief  in 
the  nobility,  refinement,  and  chivalric  deference  to 
womanhood,  inherent  in  Southern  gentlemen;  and  if 
it  be  not  all  a  myth,  I  invoke  its  protection  against 
abuse  of  my  father.  A  stranger,  but  a  lady,  every 
inch,  I  demand  the  respect  due  from  a  gentleman." 

For  a  moment  they  eyed  each  other,  as  gladiators 
awaiting  the  signal,  then  Gen'l  Darrington  sprang  to 
his  feet,  and  with  a  bow,  stately  and  profound  as  if 
made  to  a  duchess,  replied : 

' '  And  in  the  name  of  Southern  chivalry,  I  swear 
you  shall  receive  it." 

"Read  your  daughter's  letter;  give  me  your 
answer,  and  let  us  cut  short  an  interview — which,  if 
disagreeable  to  you,  is  almost  unendurable  to  me." 

Turning  away,  she  began  to  walk  slowly  up  and 
down  the  floor ;  and  smothering  an  oath  under  his 
heavy  mustache,  the  old  man  sank  back  in  his  chair, 
and  opened  the  letter. 


AT  THE  MEEOY  OP  TIBERIUS. 


CHAPTER  III. 

TJOLDING  in  leash  the  painful  emotions  that 
•*•  -*•  struggled  for  utterance,  Beryl  was  unconscious 
of  the  lapse  of  time,  and  when  her  averted  eyes  returned 
reluctantly  to  her  grandfather's  face,  he  was  slowly 
tearing  into  shreds  the  tear-stained  letter,  freighted 
with  passionate  prayers  for  pardon,  and  for  succor. 
Rolling  the  strips  into  a  ball,  he  threw  it  into  the 
waste-paper  basket  under  the  table  ;  then  filled  a  glass 
with  sherry,  drank  it,  and  dropped  his  head  wearily 
on  his  hand.  Five  leaden  minutes  crawled  away,  and 
a  long,  heavy  sigh  quivered  through  Gen'l  Darring- 
ton's  gaunt  frame.  Seizing  the  decanter,  he  poured 
the  contents  into  two  glasses,  and  as  he  raised  one  to 
his  lips,  held  the  other  toward  his  visitor. 

"You  must  be  weary  from  your  journey;  let  me  in 
sist  that  you  drink  some  sherry." 

"Thank  you,  I  neither  wish  nor  require  it." 

"I  find  your  name  is  Beryl.  Sit  down  here,  and 
answer  a  few  questions."  He  drew  a  chair  near  his 
own. 

She  shook  her  head  : 

"  If  you  will  excuse  me,  I  prefer  to  stand." 

In  turning,  so  as  to  confront  her  fully,  his  elbow 
struck  from  the  table,  a  bronze  paper-weight  which 
rolled  just  beyond  his  reach.  Instinctively  she  stooped 
to  pick  it  up,  and  in  restoring  it,  her  fingers  touched 
his.  Leaning  suddenly  forward  he  grasped  her  wrists 
ere  she  was  aware  of  his  intention,  and  drew  her  in 
front  of  him. 

"  Pardon  me ;  but  I  want  a  good  look  at  you." 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS-  35 

His  keen  merciless  eyes  searched  every  feature,  and 
he  deliberately  lifted  and  examined  the  exquisitely 
shaped  strong,  white  hands,  the  dainty  nails,  and 
delicately  rounded  wrists  with  their  violet  tracery 
of  veins.  It  cost  her  an  effort,  to  abstain  from 
wrenching  herself  free;  but  her  mother's  caution: 
"  So  much  depends  on  the  impression  you  make  upon 
father,"  girded  her  to  submit  to  his  critical  inspec 
tion. 

A  grim  smile  crossed  his  face,  as  he  watched  her. 

"  Blood  often  doubles,  like  a  fox ;  sometimes  'crops 
back/  but  never  lies.  You  can't  play  out  your  role  of 
pauper ;  and  you  don't  look  a  probable  outcome  of 
destitution  and  hard  work.  Your  hands  would  fit 
much  better  in  a  metope  of  the  Elgin  Marbles,  than  in 
a  wash-tub,  or  a  bake-oven." 

Drawing  away  quickly,  she  put  them  behind  her, 
and  felt  her  palms  tingle. 

"  It  is  expected  I  should  believe  that  for  some  time 
past,  you  have  provided  for  your  own,  and  your 
mother's  wants.  In  what  way  ?" 

"By  coloring  photographs;  by  furnishing  designs 
for  Christmas  and  Easter  cards,  and  occasionally  (not 
often),  by  selling  drawings  used  for  decorating  china, 
and  wall-paper.  At  one  time,  I  had  regular  pay  for 
singing  in  a  choir,  but  diphtheria  injured  my  throat, 
and  when  I  partly  recovered  my  voice,  the  situation 
had  been  given  to  another  person." 

"  I  am  informed  also  that  before  long,  you  intend  to 
astonish  the  world  with  a  wonderful  picture,  which 
shall  distance  such  laggards  as  Troyon,  Dore,  and 
Ary  Scheffer  ?" 

She  was  looking,  not  at  him,  but  out  through  the 
glass  door,  at  the  glowing  western  sky,  where  distant 
pine  trees  printed  their  silhouettes.  Now  her  gaze 


86  AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

came  back  to  his  face,  and  he  noted  a  faint  quiver  in 
her  full  throat. 

"If  God  will  mercifully  spare  my  mother  to  me,  my 
loftiest  and  holiest  ambition  shall  be  to  distance  the 
wolfish  cares  and  woes  that  have  hunted  her,  ever 
since  she  became  a  widow.  Any  and  all  honest  labor 
that  can  contribute  to  her  comfort,  will  be  welcome 
and  sweet  to  me." 

"  The  laws  of  heredity  must  be  occult  and  complex. 
The  offspring1  of  a  rebellious  and  disobedient  child,  is 
certainly  entitled  to  no  filial  instincts ;  and  some  day 
the  strain  will  tell,  and  you  will  overwhelm  your 
mother  with  ingratitude,  black  as  that  which  she 
showed  me." 

"  When  I  do,  may  God  eternally  forsake  me  !" 

A  brief  silence  ensued,  and  the  old  man  drummed  on 
the  table,  with  the  fingers  of  his  right  hand. 

"  Who  educated  you  ?" 

"My  dear  father." 

"It  seems  there  are  two  of  you.  Where  is  your 
brother?" 

"  At  present,  I  do  not  know  exactly  where  he  is,  but 
I  think  in  the  far  West ;  possibly  in  Montana — prob 
ably  in  Canada." 

"  How  does  he  earn  his  bread  ?  By  daubing,  or 
fiddling?" 

* '  Since  he  earns  it  honestly,  that  is  his  own  affair. 
We  have  not  heard  from  him  for  some  months." 

"  I  thought  so !  He  inherits  the  worthless  vaga 
bond  strain  of — " 

"  He  is  his  mother's  idol,  and  she  glories  in  his  re 
semblance  to  you,  sir  ;  and  to  your  father ;  hence  his 
name — Robert  L.  Darrington." 

"  Then  she  must  have  one  handsome  child  I  I  am 
not  surprised  that  he  is  the  favorite." 


I 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  37 

"Bertie  certainly  is  her  darling,  and  he  is  very 
handsome ;  not  in  the  very  least  degree  like  me." 

For  the  first  time,  their  eyes  met  in  a  friendly 
glance,  and  a  covert  smile  stirred  the  General's  lips ; 
but  as  he  put  out  his  hand  toward  her,  she  moved  a 
step  beyond  his  reach. 

1 1  Beryl,  you  consider  me  a  dreadful,  cruel  old 
tyrant?" 

She  made  no  reply. 

"Answer  me." 

"You  are  my  mother's  father;  and  that  word — 
father,  means  so  much  to  me,  that  it  shall  shield  even 
you,  from  the  shadow  of  disrespect." 

"Oh!  very  dutiful  indeed,  but  dead  as  the  days 
when  daughters  obeyed,  and  honored  their  fathers ! 
Beggarly  foreign  professors  wiped  all  that  out  of  the 
minds  of  wealthy  girls  at  boarding  schools — just  as 
they  changed  their  backwoods  pronunciation  of 
French  and  Italian.  Don't  evade  my  question." 

"  I  did  not  come  here,  sir,  to  bandy  words ;  and  I 
ended  my  mission  by  delivering  the  letter  intrusted  to 
me." 

"  You  regard  me  as  a  vindictive  old  bear  ?" 

"  I  had  heard  much  of  the  Darringtons ;  I  imag 
ined  a  great  deal  more ;  but  now,  like  the  Queen  of 
Sheba,  I  must  testify — '  Behold,  the  half  was  not  told 
me.'" 

He  threw  back  his  lion-like  head,  and  laughed. 

"  That  will  do.    Shake  hands,  child." 
"No,  thank  you." 

"  And  you  will  not  sit  down  ?" 

"  Frankly,  I  prefer  not.    I  long  to  get  away." 
"  You  shall  certainly  be  gratified,  but  there  are  a 
few  things  which  I  intend  you  shall  hear.    Of  course 
you  know  that  your  mother  was  my  only  child,  and 


38  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

an  heiress ;  but  you  are  ignorant  probably  of  the  fact 
that  when  she  returned  to  boarding  school  for  the 
last  session,  she  was  engaged  in  marriage  to  the  son 
of  my  best  friend — a  man  in  every  respect  desirable, 
and  thoroughly  acceptable  to  me." 

"So  my  mother  told  me." 

"  Indeed  ?  She  should  blush  to  remember  it.  While 
she  wore  his  engagement  ring,  she  forgot  her  promise 
to  him,  her  duty  to  me,  her  lineage,  her  birth,  her 
position  —  and  was  inveigled  by  a  low  adventurer 
who " 

"  Who  was  my  own  precious  father — poor,  but  noble, 
and  worthy  of  any  princess  !  Unless  you  can  refer  to 
him  respectfully,  name  him  not  at  all,  in  his  child's 
presence." 

She  suddenly  towered  over  him,  like  some  threaten 
ing  fate,  and  her  uplifted  arm  trembled  from  the 
intensity  of  her  indignation. 

"  At  least — you  are  loyal  to  your  tribe !" 

"I  am,  to  my  heart's  core.  You  could  pay  me  no 
higher  compliment." 

"Ellice  wrote  that  she  had  bestowed  her  affections 
on — on — the  '  exiled  scion  of  a  noble  house,'  who  paid 
his  board  bill  by  teaching  languages  and  music  in  the 
school ;  and  who  very  naturally  preferred  to  marry  a 
rich  fool,  who  would  pay  them  for  him.  I  answered  her 
letter,  which  was  addressed  to  her  own  mother — then 
quite  ill  at  home — and  I  told  her  precisely  what  she 
might  expect,  if  she  persisted  in  her  insane  folly.  As 
soon  as  my  wife  convalesced  sufficiently  to  render  my 
departure  advisable,  I  started  to  bring  my  daughter 
home ;  but  she  ran  away,  a  few  hours  before  my 
arrival,  and  while,  hoping  to  rescue  Ellice,  I  was  in 
pursuit  of  the  precious  pair,  my  wife  relapsed  and 
died — the  victim  of  excitement  brought  on  by  her 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  39 

child's  disgrace.  I  came  back  here  to  a  desolate, 
silent  house ;— bereft  of  wife  and  daughter ;  and  in  the 
grave  of  her  mother,  I  buried  every  atom  of  love  and 
tenderness  I  ever  entertained  for  Ellice.  When  the 
sun  is  suddenly  blotted  out  at  noon,  and  the  world 
turns  black— black,  we  grope  to  and  fro  aimlessly; 
but  after  awhile,  we  accommodate  ourselves  to  the 
darkness; — and  so,  I  became  a  different  man — very 
hard,  and  I  dare  say  very  bitter.  The  world  soon 
learned  that  I  would  tolerate  no  allusion  to  my  dis 
grace,  and  people  respected  my  family  cancer,  and 
prudently  refrained  from  offering  me  nostrums  to 
cure  it.  My  wife  had  a  handsome  estate  in  her  own 
right,  and  every  cent  of  her  fortune  I  collected, 
and  sent  with  her  jewelry  to  Ellice.  Did  you  know 
this?" 

"  I  have  heard  only  of  the  jewels." 

"  As  I  supposed,  the  money  was  squandered  before 
you  could  recollect." 

"  I  know  that  we  were  reduced  to  poverty,  by  the 
failure  of  some  banking  house  in  Paris.  I  was  old 
enough  when  it  occurred,  to  remember  ever  afterward, 
the  dismay  and  distress  it  caused.  My  father  no 
doubt  placed  my  mother's  money  there  for  safety." 

"  I  wrote  one  long,  final  letter  when  I  sent  the  checks 
for  the  money,  and  I  told  Ellice  I  wished  never  to  see, 
never  to  hear  from  her  again.  I  told  her  also,  I  had 
only  one  wish  concerning  her,  and  that  was,  that  I 
might  be  able  to  forget  her  so  completely,  that  if  we 
should  meet  in  the  Last  Judgment,  I  could  not  possibly 
know  her.  I  assured  her  she  need  expect  nothing  at 
my  death ;  as  I  had  taken  good  care  that  my  estate 
should  not  fall  into  the  clutches  of — her — '  exiled  scion 
of  a  noble  house/  Now  do  you  consider  that  she  has 
any  claim  on  me  ?" 


40  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"You  must  not  ask  me  to  sit  in  judgment  on  my 
parents." 

"  You  shall  decide  a  question  of  business  facts.  I 
provided  liberally  for  her  once ;  can  you  expect  me  to 
do  so  again  ?  Has  she  any  right  to  demand  it  ?" 

"  Having  defied  your  parental  wishes,  she  may  have 
forfeited  a  daughter's  claim;  but  as  a  heart-broken 
sufferer,  you  cannot  deny  her  thd  melancholy  privilege 
of  praying  for  your  help,  on  her  death-bed." 

The  proud  clear  voice  trembled,  and  Beryl  covered 
her  face  with  her  hands. 

"  Then  we  will  ignore  outraged  ties  of  blood,  and 
treat  on  the  ground  of  mere  humanity  ?  Let  me  con 
clude,  for  it  is  sickening  and  loathsome  to  a  man  of 
my  age,  to  see  his  long  silent  household  graves  yawn, 
and  give  up  uncalled— their  sheeted  dead.  For  some 
years  the  money  sent,  was  a  quietus,  and  I  was  left  in 
peace.  I  was  lonely;  it  was  hard  work  to  forget,  be 
cause  I  could  never  forgive;  and  the  more  desolate 
the  gray  ruin,  the  more  nature  yearns  to  cover  it 
close  with  vines  and  flowers ;  so  after  a  time,  I  mar 
ried  a  gentle,  pure  hearted  woman,  who  made  the  best 
of  what  was  left  of  me.  We  had  no  children,  but  she 
had  one  son  of  a  former  marriage,  who  proved  a  noble 
trustworthy  boy;  and  by  degrees  he  crept  into  my 
heart,  and  raked  together  the  cinders  of.  my  dead  af 
fections,  and  kindled  a  feeble  flame  that  warmed  my 
shivering  old  age.  When  I  felt  assured  that  I  was 
not  thawing  another  serpent  to  sting  me  for  my  pains, 
I  adopted  Thornton  Prince,  and  with  the  aid  of  a 
Legislative  enactment,  changed  his  name  to  Prince 
Darrington.  Only  a  few  months  elapsed,  before  his 
mother,  of  whom  I  was  very  fond,  died  of  consump 
tion  ;  and  my  boy  and  I  comforted  each  other.  Then 
I  made  my  second  and  last  will,  and  took  every  possi- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  41 

ble  precaution  to  secure  my  estate  of  every  description 
to  him.  He  is  my  sole  heir,  and  I  intend  that  at  my 
death  he  shall  receive  every  cent  I  possess.  Did  you 
know  this?" 

"  I  did,  because  your  last  endorsement  on  a  letter 
of  my  mother's  returned  unopened  to  her,  informed 
her  of  the  fact." 

"  Why  ?  Because  in  violation  of  my  wishes  she  had 
persisted  in  writing1,  and  soon  began  to  importune  me 
for  money.  Then  I  made  her  understand  that  even  at 
my  death,  she  would  receive  no  aid ;  and  since  that  en 
dorsement,  I  have  returned  or  destroyed  her  letters 
unread.  My  Will  is  so  strong — has  been  drawn  so 
carefully — that  no  contest  can  touch  it;  and  it  will  stand 
forever  between  your  mother  and  my  property." 

As  he  uttered  these  words,  he  elevated  his  voice, 
which  had  a  ring1  of  savage  triumph  in  its  harsh  excit 
ed  tones.  Just  then,  a  muffled  sound  attracted  his  at 
tention,  and  seizing-  his  gold-headed  cane,  he  limped 
with  evident  pain  to  the  threshold  of  the  adjoining 
room. 

"Bedney." 

Keceiving  no  reply,  he  closed  the  door  with  a  vio 
lence  that  jarred  the  whole  room ;  and  came  slowly 
back  to  the  table,  where  he  stood  leaning  heavily  on 
his  stick. 

"  At  least  we  will  have  no  eavesdropping  at  this 
resurrection  of  my  dead.  That  Ellice  is  now  a  miser 
able  woman,  I  have  no  doubt ;  for  truly  :  '  Quien  se 
casa  por  amores,  ha  de  vivir  con  dolor  es.'  Of 
course  you  understand  Spanish?" 

"  No,  sir  ;  but  no  matter ;  I  take  it  for  granted  that 
you  intend  some  thrust  at  my  mother,  and  I  have 
heard  quite  enough." 

"  Don't  know  Spanish  ?    W^^  T  fo»$ied  your— your 


4:2  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

'  exiled  scion  of  a  noble  house ' — taught  all  the  lan 
guages  under  the  sun;  including  that  used  by  the 
serpent  in  beguiling  Eve  !  Well,  the  wise  old  adage 
means:  'Who  marries  for  love,  lives  with  sorrow.9 
Ellice  made  her  choice,  and  she  shall  abide  by  it ;  and 
you — being  unluckily  her  daughter — will  share  the 
punishment.  If  '  fathers  will  eat  sour  grapes,  the 
children's  teeth  must  be  set  on  edge.'  I  repudiate  all 
claims  on  my  parental  treasury,  save  such  as  I  have 
given  to  my  son  Prince.  To  every  other  draft  I  am 
bankrupt ;  but  merely  as  a  gentleman,  I  will  now  for 
the  last  time,  respond  to  the  petition  of  a  sick  woman, 
whose  child  is  so  loyal  as  to  arouse  my  compassion. 
Ellice  has  asked  for  one  hundred  dollars.  You  shall 
have  it.  But  first,  tell  me  why  she  did  not  go  to  the 
hospital,  and  submit  to  the  operation  which  she  says 
will  cure  her  ?" 

f '  Because  I  could  not  be  with  her  there,  and  I  will 
never  be  separated  from  her.  The  aneurism  has 
grown  so  alarmingly,  that  I  became  desperate,  and 
having  no  one  to  aid  us,  I  reluctantly  obeyed  my 
mother's  requirement  that  I  should  come  here.  I 
could  not  summon  my  brother,  because  I  have  no  idea 
where  a  letter  would  reach  him ;  and  with  no  friend 
—but  the  God  of  the  friendless — I  am  before  you. 
There  is  one  thing  I  ought  to  tell  you ;  I  have  terrible 
forebodings  of  the  result  of  the  operation,  from  which 
the  Doctor  encourages  her  to  hope  so  much.  She  will 
not  be  able  to  take  anaesthetics,  at  least  not  chloro 
form,  because  she  has  a  weak  heart,  and — " 

"  Yes — a  very  weak  heart !  It  was  never  strong 
enough  to  hold  her  to  her  duty." 

"  If  you  could  see  her  now,  I  think  even  your  vindic 
tive  hatred  would  be  sufficiently  gratified.  So  wasted, 
so  broken  !— and  with  such  a  ceaseless  cr?"™  ~*  i 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  43 

kind  word  from  you.  One  night  last  week  pain  made 
her  restless,  and  I  heard  her  sob.  When  I  tried  to 
relieve  the  suffering,  she  cried  bitterly :  '  It  is  not  my 
poor  body  alone— it  is  the  gnawing  hunger  to  see 
father  once  more.  He  loved  me  so  fondly  once,  and  if 
I  could  crawl  to  his  feet,  and  clasp  his  knees  in  my 
arms,  I  could  at  least  die  in  peace.  I  am  starving  for 
just  one  sight  of  him — one  touch.'  My  poor  darling 
mother  !  My  beautiful,  bruised,  broken  flower." 

Through  the  glittering  mist  of  unshed  tears,  her 
eyes  shone,  like  silver  lamps  ;  and  for  a  moment  Gen'l 
Darrington  covered  his  face  with  one  hand. 

"If  you  could  realize  how  bitterly  galling  to  my 
own  pride  and  self  respect  is  this  appeal  to  a  man  who 
hates  and  spurns  all  whom  I  love,  I  think,  sir,  that 
even  you  would  pity  me  so  heartily,  that  your  har 
dened  heart  would  melt  into  one  last  farewell  message 
of  forgiveness  to  your  unfortunate  daughter.  I  would 
rather  carry  her  one  word  of  love  than  all  your  for 
tune." 

"No — I  come  of  a  flinty  race.  We  never  forgive 
insults  ;  never  condone  wrongs  ;  and  expecting  loyalty 
in  our  own  blood,  we  cannot  live  long  enough  to  par 
don  its  treachery.  Once,  I  made  an  idol  of  my  beauti 
ful,  graceful,  high-bred  girl;  but  she  stabbed  my 
pride,  dragged  my  name  through  the  gutters,  broke 
her  doting  mother's  heart ;  and  now,  I  tell  you,  she  is 
as  dead  to  me  as  if  she  had  lain  twenty-three  years  in 
her  grave.  I  have  only  one  message.  Tell  her  she  is 
reaping  the  tares  her  own  hand  sowed.  I  know  her 
no  more  as  child  of  mine ;  and  my  son  fills  her  place 
so  completely,  I  do  not  even  miss  her.  That  is  the 
best  I  can  say.  No  doubt  I  am  hard,  but  at  least  I 
am  honest ;  and  I  will  not  feign  what  I  cannot  feel." 

He  limped  across  the  floor,  to  a  recess  on  one  side 


4:4;  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

of  the  chimney,  where  a  square  vault  with  an  iron 
door  had  been  ^nilt  into  the  wall.  Leaning1  on  his 
cane,  he  took  from  his  pocket  a  bunch  of  keys,  fitted 
one  into  the  lock,  and  pushing-  the  bolt,  the  door  slid 
back  into  a  groove,  instead  of  opening  on  hinges.  He 
lifted  a  black  tin  box  from  the  depths  of  the  vault, 
carried  it  to  the  table,  sat  down,  and  opened  it.  Near 
the  top,  were  numerous  papers  tied  into  packages  with 
red  tape,  and  two  large  envelopes  carefully  sealed 
with  dark  green  wax.  In  removing  the  bundles,  to 
find  something  beneath  them,  these  envelopes  were 
laid  on  the  table ;  and  as  one  was  either  accidentally 
or  intentionally  turned,  Beryl  saw  the  endorsement 
written  in  bold  black  letters,  and  heavily  underscored 
in  red  ink :  "  Last  Will  and  Testament  of  Robert 
Luke  Darrington."  Untying  a  small  chamois  bag, 
the  owner  counted  out  five  twenty-dollar  gold  pieces, 
closed  the  bag,  and  replaced  it  in  the  box. 

''Hold  out  your  hand.  Your  mother  asked  for  one 
hundred  dollars.  Here  is  the  exact  amount.  Hence 
forth,  leave  me  in  peace.  I  am  an  old  man,  and  I 
advise  you  to  '  let  sleeping  dogs  lie.' ' 

If  he  had  laid  a  red-hot  iron  on  her  palm,  it  would 
scarcely  have  been  more  scorching  than  the  touch  of 
his  gold,  and  only  the  vision  of  a  wan  and  woful  face 
in  that  far  off  cheerless  attic-room,  restrained  her  im 
pulse  to  throw  it  at  his  feet. 

An  almost  intolerable  humiliation  dyed  her  pale 
cheeks  a  deep  purplish  crimson,  and  she  proudly  drew 
herself  to  her  utmost  height. 

"Because  I  cannot  now  help  myself,  I  accept  the 
money — not  as  a  gift,  but  as  a  loan  for  my  mother's 
benefit ;  and  so  help  me  God !  I  will  not  owe  it  to  you 
one  moment  longer  than  by  hard  labor  I  can  earn 
and  return  it.  Good  bye,  Gen'l  Darrington." 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  45 

She  turned  toward  the  closed  door  leading  to  the 
library,  but  raising-  his  cane,  he  held  it  out,  to  inter 
cept  her. 

"  Wait  a  moment.    There  is  one  thing  more." 

He  took  from  the  tin  box  an  oblong  package,  wrap 
ped  in  letter  paper,  yellowed  by  age,  and  carefully  seal 
ed  with  red  wax.  As  he  held  it  up,  she  read  thereon : 
"  My  last  folly."  He  tore  off  the  paper,  lifted  an  old 
fashioned  morocco  case,  and  attempted  to  open  it,  but 
the  catch  was  obstinate,  or  rusty,  and  several  ineffect 
ual  efforts  were  made,  ere  he  succeeded  in  moving  the 
spring.  The  once  white  velvet  cushion,  had  darkened 
and  turned  very  yellow,  but  time  had  robbed  in  no  de 
gree,  the  lustre  of  the  magnificent  sapphires  coiled 
there ;  and  the  blue  fires  leaped  out,  as  if  rejoicing  in 
the  privilege  of  displaying  their  splendor. 

' '  This  set  of  stones  was  intended  as  a  gift  to  your 
mother,  when  she  was  graduated  at  boarding-school. 
The  time  fixed  for  the  close  of  the  session  was  only 
one  month  later  than  the  day  on  which  she  eloped  with 
that  foreign  fraud,  who  should  never  have  been  allow 
ed  in  the  school.  My  wife  had  promised  that  if  your 
mother  won  the  honor  of  valedictorian,  she  should 
have  the  handsomest  present  ever  worn  at  a  com- 
mencemriis.  These  costly  sapphires  were  my  poor 
wife's  cnoice.  .Poor  Helena!  how  often  she  admired 
them  !"  His  voice  faltered,  and  he  bit  his  under  lip 
bo  still  its  quiver. 

Was  there  some  necromancy  in  the  azure  flames, 
that  suddenly  revealed  the  beloved  face  of  the  wife  of 
his  youth,  and  the  lovely  vision  of  their  only  child  ? 
His  eagle  eyes  were  dim  with  tears,  and  his  hand 
shook  ;  but,  as  if  ashamed  of  the  weakness,  he  closed 
the  jewel  case  with  a  snap,  and  held  it  out. 
"  Here — take  them.  I  had  intended  to  give  them  as 


46  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

a  bridal  present  to  my  son's  wife,  when  he  marries  to 
suit  me — as  he  certainly  will ;  but  somehow,  such  a 
disposal  seems  hard  on  my  dear  Helena's  wishes,  and 
for  her  sake,  I  don't  feel  quite  easy  about  leaving  them 
to  Prince's  bride.  Your  mother  never  saw  them, 
never  knew  of  their  existence.  They  are  very  valua 
ble,  and  the  amount  they  will  bring  must  relieve  all 
present  necessities.  Tell  Ellice  the  sight  of  the  case 
disturbs  me,  like  a  thorn  in  the  flesh,  so  I  send  them 
away,  to  rid  myself  of  an  annoyance.  She  must  not 
thank  me ;  they  come  from  her — dead  mother." 

"  A  knowledge  of  their  history  would  give  her  infi 
nitely  more  pain  than  the  proceeds  of  their  sale  could 
bring  comfort.  I  would  not  stab  her  aching  heart  for 
twenty  times  the  value  of  the  jewels." 

"  Then  sell  them,  or  do  as  you  like.  It  matters  not 
what  becomes  of  them,  if  I  am  spared  in  future  all  re 
minders  of  the  past.  Put  them  in  your  pocket. 
What  ?  The  case  is  too  large?  Where  is  your  trunk 
-—your  baggage  ?" 

"I  have  none,  except  my  basket  and  shawl." 

She  picked  them  up  from  the  carpet  near  the  library 
door,  and  dropped  the  case  into  her  basket. 

"  You  are  a  brave,  and  a  loyal  woman,  and  you  ap 
pear  to  deserve  far  better  parents  than  fell  to  your  lot. 
Before  you  go,  let  me  oner  you  a  glass  of  wine,  and  a 
biscuit." 

"  Thank  you — no.    I  could  not  possibly  accept  it." 

"Well,  we  shall  never  meet  again.  Good-bye. 
Shake  hands." 

"  I  will  very  gladly  do  so  if  you  will  only  give  me 
just  one  gentle,  forgiving  kind  word  to  comfort 
mother." 

He  set  his  teeth,  and  shook  his  head. 

"  Good-bye,  Gen'l  Darrington.    When  you  lie  down 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  47 

to  die,  I  hope  God  will  be  more  merciful  to  your  poor 
soul,  than  you  have  shown  yourself  to  your  suffering- 
child." 

He  bowed  profoundly. 

Her  hand  was  on  the  knob  of  the  door,  when  he 
pointed  to  the  western  veranda. 

' '  You  are  going  back  to  town  ?  Then,  if  you  please, 
be  so  good  as  to  pass  out  through  that  rear  entrance, 
and  close  the  glass  door  after  you.  A  side  path  leads 
to  the  lawn ;  and  I  prefer  that  you  should  not  meet 
the  servants,  who  pry  and  tattle." 

When  she  stood  on  the  veranda,  and  turned  to  close 
the  wide  arched  glass  door,  whence  the  inside  red  silk 
curtain  had  been  looped  back,  her  last  view  of  the 
gaunt,  tall  figure  within,  showed  him  leaning  on  his 
stick, with  the  tin  box  held  in  his  left  hand, and  the  dying 
sunlight  shining  on  his  silver  hair  and  furrowed  face. 

Along  the  serpentine  path  which  was  bordered 
with  masses  of  brilliant  chrysanthemums,  Beryl 
walked  rapidly,  feeling  almost  stifled  by  the  pressure 
of  contending  emotions.  Recollecting  that  these  spice 
censers  of  Autumn  were  her  mother's  favorite  flowers, 
she  stooped  and  broke  several  lovely  clusters  of  orange 
and  garnet  color,  hoping  that  a  lingering  breath  of 
perfume  from  the  home  of  her  girlhood,  might  afford 
at  least  a  melancholy  pleasure  to  the  distant  invalid. 

Advancing  into  the  elm  avenue,  she  heard  a  voice 
calling,  and  looking  back,  saw  the  old  negro  man, 
Bedney,  waving  his  white  apron  and  running  toward 
her ;  but  at  that  moment  his  steps  were  arrested  by 
the  sudden,  loud  and  rapid  ringing  of  a  bell.  He 
paused,  listened,  wavered ;  then  threw  up  his  hands, 
and  hurried  back  to  the  house,  whence  issued  the  im 
patient  summons. 

The  sun  had  gone  down  in  the  g^reen  saa  of  far-off 


4$  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

pine  tops,  but  the  western  sky  glowed  like  some  vast 
altar  of  topaz,  whereon  zodiacal  fires  had  kindled  the 
rays  of  vivid  rose,  that  sprang  into  the  zenith  and 
cooled  their  flush  in  the  pale  blue  of  the  upper  air. 
Under  the  elms,  swift  southern  twilight  was  already 
filling  the  arches  with  purple  gloom,  and  "when  the 
heavy  iron  gate  closed  with  a  sullen  clang  behind  her, 
Beryl  drew  a  long  deep  breath  of  relief.  On  the 
sultry  atmosphere  broke  the  gurgling  andante  music 
of  the  "branch,"  as  it  eddied  among  the  nodding  ferns, 
and  darted  under  the  bridge ;  and  the  weary,  thirsty 
woman  knelt  on  the  mossy  margin,  dipped  up  the 
amber  water  in  her  palms,  drank,  and  bathed  her 
burning  face  which  still  tingled  painfully. 

Having  learned  from  the  Station  Agent,  who  had 
already  sold  her  a  return  ticket,  that  the  north  bound 
railway  train,  by  which  she  desired  to  travel  home, 
would  not  depart  until  7.15,  she  was  beguiled 
by  the  brilliance  of  the  sky  into  the  belief  that  she 
had  ample  time,  to  comply  with  her  mother's  farewell 
request.  Mrs.  Brentano  had  tied  with  a  scrap  oi 
ribbon  the  bouquet  of  flowers,  bought  by  her  daughter 
on  the  afternoon  of  her  journey  south,  and  asked  her 
to  lay  them  on  her  mother's  grave. 

Anxious  to  accomplish  this  sacred  mission  Beryl  took 
the  faded  blossoms  from  her  basket,  added  a  cluster 
of  chrysanthemums,  a  frond  of  fern  from  the  "  branch  " 
border,  and  hurried  on  to  the  cemetery.  When  she 
reached  the  entrance,  the  gate  was  locked,  but  un 
willing  to  return  without  having  gratified  her  mother's 
wish,  she  climbed  into  a  spreading  cedar  close  by  the 
low  brick  wall,  and  swung  herself  easily  down  inside 
the  enclosure. 

Some  time  was  lost  in  finding  the  Darrington  lot, 
but  at  last  she  stood  before  a  tall iw™  r^Uug,  that 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  49 

bristled  with  lance-like  points,  between  the  dust  of  her 
ancestors  and  herself.  In  one  corner  rose  a  beautiful 
monument,  bearing  on  its  front,  in  gilt  letters,  the 
inscription  "  Helena  Tracy,  wife  of  R.  L.  Darrington." 

Thrusting  her  hand  through  a  space  in  the  railing, 
Beryl  dropped  her  mother's  withered  Arkja  tribute  on 
the  marble  slab.  Her  dress  was  caught  by  a  sharp 
point  of  iron,  and  while  endeavoring  to  disengage  it, 
she  heard  the  shrill  whistle  of  the  E-.  R«  engine.  Tear 
ing  the  skirt  away,  she  ran  to  the  wall,  climbed  over, 
after  some  delay,  and  finding  herself  once  more  in  the 
open  road,  darted  on  as  fast  as  possible  through  the 
dusk,  heedless  of  appearances,  fearful  only  of  miss 
ing  the  train.  How  the  houses  multiplied,  and  what 
interminable  lengths  the  squares  seemed,  as  she  near- 
ed  .the  brick  warehouse  and  office  of  the  station  ! 
The  lamps  at  the  street  corners  beckoned  her  on,  and 
when  panting  for  breath  she  rushed  around  the  side 
of  the  tall  building  that  fronted  the  railway,  there 
was  no  train  in  sight. 

Two  or  three  coal  cars  stood  on  a  siding,  near  a  de 
tached  engine,  where  one  man  was  lighting  the  lamp 
before  the  reflector  of  the  headlight,  and  another,  who 
whistled  merrily,  burnished  the  brass  and  copper  plat 
ings.  In  the  door  of  the  ticket  office  the  agent  loung 
ed,  puffed  his  cigar,  and  fanned  himself  with  his  hat. 

"  What  time  is  it  ?"  cried  Beryl. 

"  Seven — forty-five." 

"Oh!  do  not  tell  me  1  have  missed  the  train." 

"You  certainly  have.  I  told  you  it  left  at  7.15 
sharp.  It  was  ten  minutes  behind  time  on  account  of 
hot  boxes,  but  rolled  out  just  twenty  minutes  ago. 
Did  you  get  lost,  hunting  *  Elm  Bluff',  and  miss  your 
train  on  that  account  ?" 

"  No,  I  had  no  difficulty  in  flm^™  ***  ^ace,  but 


50  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

having  no  watch,  I  was  forced  to  guess  at  the  time. 
Only  twenty  minutes  too  late  !" 

"  Did  you  see  the  old  war-horse?" 

Beryl  did  not  answer,  and  after  a  moment  the  agent 
added : 

"That  is  Gen'l  Darrington's  nick-name  all  over 
this  section." 

"  When  will  the  next  train  leave  here  ?" 

"Not  until  3:05  A.M." 

Beryl  sat  down  on  the  edge  of  a  baggage  truck,  and 
pondered  the  situation.  She  knew  that  her  mother, 
who  had  carefully  studied  the  railway  schedule,  was 
with  feverish  anxiety  expecting  her  return  by  the 
train,  now  many  miles  away ;  and  she  feared  that  any 
unexplained  detention  would  have  an  injurious  effect 
on  the  sick  woman's  shattered  nerves. 

Although  she  could  ill  afford  the  expense,  she  resolv 
ed  to  allay  all  apprehension,  by  the  costly  sedative  of 
a  telegram. 

Only  a  wall  separated  the  ticket  office  from  that  of 
the  "  telegraph",  and  approaching  the  operator,  Beryl 
asked  for  a  blank  form,  on  which  she  wrote  her 
mother's  address,  and  the  following  message  : 

"  Complete  success  required  delay.  All  will  be  sat 
isfactory.  Expect  me  Saturday.  B.  B." 

When  she  had  paid  the  operator,  there  remained  in 
her  purse,  exclusive  of  the  gold  coins  received  that 
afternoon,  only  thirty-eight  cents.  Where  could  she 
spend  the  next  seven  hours?  Interpreting  the  perplex 
ed  expression  of  her  face,  the  agent,  who  had  curious 
ly  noted  her  movements,  said  courteously : 

"  There  is  a  hotel  a  few  blocks  off,  where  you  can 
rest  until  train  time." 

"  I  prefer  to  remain  here." 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  51 

"We  generally  lock  up  this  office  about  half -past 
eight,  and  re-open  at  half-past  two,  which  gives  pass 
engers  ample  accommodation  for  the  3:05  train." 

"  Would  you  violate  regulations  toy  leaving  the 
waiting-room  open  to-night  ?" 

"Not  exactly;  as  of  course  we  are  obliged  to  keep 
open  for  delayed  trains;  but  it  will  toe  lonesome 
waiting,  for  no  one  stays  here,  except  the  Night  Train 
Despatcher,  and  the  switch  watchman.  Still  if  it  will 
oblige  you,  miss,  I  will  not  lock  up,  and  you  can  doze 
away  the  time  by  spreading  your  shawl  on  two  chairs. 
I  am  going  to  supper  now,  and  shall  turn  down  the 
lights.  One  burner  will  be  sufficient." 

"  Thank  you  very  much.  Where  can  I  find  some 
water?" 

"  In  the  cooler  in  the  ladies'  dressing-room.  It  is 
most  unaccountably  hot  to-night,  and  I  never  knew 
anything  like  it  in  October.  There  must  be  a  cyclone 
brewing  somewhere  not  far  off." 

He  lifted  his  hat,  as  he  passed  her,  and  disappeared  ; 
and  the  tired  girl  seated  herself  near  a  window  and 
stirred  the  dense,  impure  air  by  fanning  herself  with 
her  straw  hat.  Gradually  the  few  stragglers  loitering 
about  the  Station  wandered  away ;  the  engineer 
stepped  upon  the  locomotive  ;  a  piercing  whistle  broke 
suddenly  on  the  silence  settling  down  over  the  whilom 
busy  precincts,  and  as  the  rhythmic  measure  of  the 
engine  bell  rang  farewell  chimes,  a  pyramid  of  sparks 
leaped  high,  and  the  mighty  mechanism  fled  down 
the  track,  hunting  its  own  echoes.  The  man  in  charge 
of  the  Express  Office  came  out,  looked  up  and  down  the 
street ;  yawned,  lighted  his  pipe,  and  after  locking1  the 
office,  wended  his  way  homeward. 

From  the  adjoining  room  came  the  slow  monotonous 
clicking  of  the  telegraph  wires,  as  messages  passed  to 


52  AT  THE  MBROY  OP  TIBBBIUS. 

other  stations,  and  only  the  switch  watchman  was 
visible,  sitting  on  an  inverted  tub,  and  playing"  snatches 
from  "  Mascotte  "  and  "  Olivette  "  upon  a  harmonicon. 

Heat  seemed  radiating  from  the  brick  pavement 
outside,  from  the  inner  walls  of  the  waiting-room ; 
and  Beryl,  finding  the  atmosphere  almost  stifling,  went 
out  under  the  stars.  Up  and  down  she  paced,  until 
weary  of  the  dusty  thoroughfare,  she  turned  into  the 
street  which,  earlier  in  the  day,  had  conducted  her 
toward  the  suburbs.  She  knew  that  a  full  moon  had 
climbed  above  the  horizon,  and  some  malign  Morgana 
lured  her  on,  with  visions  of  cool  pine  glades  paved 
with  silver  mosaics,  and  balmy  with  breath  of  balsam ; 
where  through  vast  forest  naves  echoed  the  melodious 
monody  chanted  by  the  reddish  gold  wavelets  of  the 
"branch."  In  the  eastern  sky  the  florid  face  of  a 
hunter's  moon  looked  down,  from  the  level  line  of  a 
leaden  cloud,  which  striped  the  star  emblazoned  shield 
of  night,  like  a  bar  sinister ;  and  the  white  lustre  of 
her  rays  was  dimmed  to  a  lurid  dulness  solemn  and 
presageful. 

As  Beryl  crossed  the  common  near  the  Station,  and 
entered  the  pillared  aisles  of  the  pines,  the  air  was 
less  oppressive,  but  a  dun  haze  seemed  on  every  side 
e»  curtain  the  horizon,  and  the  stars  looked  bleared 
ana  tired  in  the  breathless  vault  above  her.  A  man 
driving  two  cows  toward  town,  stared  at  her ;  then  a 
wagon  drawn  by  four  horses  rattled  along,  bear 
ing  homeward  a  gay  picnic  party  of  young  people, 
who  made  the  woods  ring  with  the  echoes  of  "  Hold 
the  Fort."  The  grandeur  of  towering  pines,  the  mys 
terious  dimness  of  illimitable  arcades,  and  the  peculiar 
resinous  odor  that  stole  like  lingering  ghosts  of  myrrh, 
frankincense  and  onycha  through  the  vaulted  solitude 
of  a  deserted  hoary  sanctuary,  all  these  phases  of 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  63 

primeval  Southern  forests  combined  to  weave  a  spell 
that  the  stranger  could  not  resist. 

After  a  while,  fearful  of  straying-  too  far,  the  weary 
woman  threw  her  shawl  on  the  brown  straw,  and  sat 
down  quite  near  the  road.  She  leaned  her  bare  head 
against  the  trunk  of  a  pine,  listened  to  the  katydids 
gossiping  in  a  distant  oak  that  shaded  the  "branch,"  to 
the  quavering  strident  song  of  a  locust ;  and  she  in 
tended,  after  resting  for  a  few  moments,  to  return  to 
the  Station-house;  but  unexpected  drowsiness  overpow 
ered  her.  Suddenly  aroused  from  a  sound  sleep,  she 
heard  the  clatter  of  galloping  hoofs,  and  as  she  sprang 
up,  the  horse,  startled  by  her  movement,  shied  and 
reared  within  a  few  feet  of  the  spot  where  she  stood. 
The  moon  shone  full  on  the  glossy  black  animal,  and 
upon  his  powerful  rider,  and  Beryl  recognized  the 
massive  head,  swarthy  face  and  keen  eyes  of  the 
attorney,  Lennox  Dunbar.  He  leaned  forward  and 
said,  as  he  patted  the  erect  ears  of  his  horse  : 

"  Madam,  you  seem  a  stranger.  Have  you  lost 
your  way  ?" 

"No,  sir." 

"  Pardon  me ;  but  having  seen  you  this  afternoon  at 
'  Elm  Bluff,'  I  thought  it  possible  you  had  missed  the 
road." 

Standing  so  straigLs  and  tall,  with  the  sheen  of  the 
moon  on  her  faultless  features,  he  thought  she  looked 
the  incarnation  of  some  prescient  Norn,  fit  for  the  well 
of  Urda. 

She  made  no  reply ;  and  he  touched  his  hat,  and  rode 
rapidly  away  in  the  direction  of  the  town,  carrying 
an  indelible  impression  of  the  mysterious  picture  under 
the  pines. 

The  sky  had  changed ;  the  face  of  the  moon  had 
cleared,  but  tatters  and  scuds  of  smoke-colored 


54  ,  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

cloud  fled  northward,  as  if  scourged  by  a  stormy 
current  too  high  to  stir  the  sultry  stagnation  of  the 
lower  atmospheric  stratum.  From  its  vaporous 
lair  somewhere  in  the  cypress  and  palm  jungles  of  the 
Mexican  Gulf  borders,  the  tempest  had  risen,  and  be 
fore  its  breath  the  shreds  of  cloud  flew  like  avant 
couriers  of  disaster.  Already  the  lurid  glare  of  in 
cessant  sheet  lightning  fought  with  the  moon  for 
supremacy,  and  from  a  leaden  wall  along  the  south 
eastern  sky,  came  the  long  reverberating  growl  of 
thunder,  that  told  where  the  electric  batteries  had 
opened  fire.  A  vague  foreboding,  which  for  several 
days  had  haunted  Beryl's  mind,  now  pressed  so 
heavily  upon  her,  that  she  hurried  back  to  the  sta 
tion,  which  was  near  the  edge  of  the  town ;  and  more 
than  once  she  started  nervously  at  sight  of  grotesque 
shadows  cast  by  the  trees  across  the  sandy  road. 

The  streets  were  deserted,  and  lights  gleamed  only 
in  upper  windows  of  apartments,  where  sick  suffer 
ers  tossed,  or  tender  mothers  sang  soft  lullabys  to 
restless  babies  crooning  in  their  cribs.  Now  and  then 
a  sudden  gust  of  wind  shook  the  yellow  berries  from 
the  china  trees,  that  bordered  the  pavements,  and  very 
soon  the  moonshine  faded,  then  flashed  fitfully,  and 
finally  vanished,  as  the  blackening  cloud  swept  over 
the  face  of  earth  and  sky.  The  watchman  dozed  on 
his  post  of  observation ;  a  porter  slept  on  a  baggage 
truck  under  the  awning,  and  as  Beryl  peeped  into  the 
telegraph  office,  she  heard  the  snoring  of  the  operator, 
whose  head  rested  upon  the  table  close  to  the  silent 
instrument.  She  listened  to  the  ticking  of  a  clock  in 
the  ticket  office,  but  could  not  see  its  face ;  wondered 
how  late  it  was,  and  how  long  she  had  been  absent. 
Feeling  very  lonely  and  restless  she  closed  the  door, 
and  sat  down  in  the  deserted  waiting-room,  glad  of  the 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  55 

companionship  of  a  tortoise-shell  cat  which  was  curled 
up  on  a  chair  next  her  own. 

Gradually  the  storm  approached,  and  she  though! 
that  an  hour  had  elapsed,  when  the  dust-tainted  smell 
of  rain  came  with  the  rush  of  cold  air.  There  was  no 
steady  gale,  but  the  tempest  broke  in  frantic  spasmodic 
gusts,  as  though  it  had  lost  its  reckoning,  and  simul 
taneously  assaulted  all  the  points  of  the  compass ; 
while  the  lightning  glared  almost  continuously,  and  the 
roar  of  the  thunder  was  uninterrupted.  Now  and  then 
a  vivid  zig-zag  flash  gored  the  intense  darkness  with 
its  baleful  blue  death-light,  followed  by  a  crash,  ap 
palling  as  if  the  battlements  of  heaven  had  been  shat 
tered.  Once  the  whole  air  seemed  ablaze,  and  the 
simultaneous  shock  of  the  detonation  was  so  violent, 
that  Beryl  involuntarily  sank  on  her  knees,  and  hid 
her  eyes  on  a  chair.  The  rain  fell  in  torrents,  that 
added  a  solemn  sullen  swell  to  the  diapason  of  the 
thunder  fugue,  and  by  degrees  a  delicious  coolness 
crept  into  the  cisterns  of  the  night. 

When  the  cloud  had  wept  away  its  fury,  and  electric 
fires  burned  low  in  the  far  west,  a  gentle  shower 
droned  on  the  roof,  and  lulled  by  its  cadence  Beryl  fell 
asleep,  still  kneeling  on  the  floor,  with  her  head  rest 
ing  on  the  chair  where  the  cat  lay  coiled. 

In  dreams,  she  wandered  with  her  father  and  broth 
er  upon  a  Tuscan  hillside  draped  with  purple  fruited 
grape  vines,  and  Bertie  was  crushing  a  luscious  clus 
ter  against  her  thirsty  lips,  when  some  noise  startled 
her.  Wide  .awake,  she  sprang  to  her  feet,  and  list 
ened. 

"There  ain't  no  tram  till  daylight,  'cepting  it  be 
the  through  freight." 

"When  is  that  due?" 

f '  Pretty  soon ;   it's  mighty  nigh  time  now,  but  ill 


56  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

don't  stop  here  ;  it  goes  on  to  the  water  tank,  whar  it 
blows  for  the  railroad  bridge." 

"  How  far  is  the  bridge  ?" 

"  Only  a  short  piece  down  the  track,  after  you  pass 
the  tank." 

Beryl  had  rushed  to  the  window,  and  looked  out, 
but  no  one  was  visible.  She  could  scarcely  mistake 
that  peculiar  voice,  and  was  so  assured  of  its  identity, 
that  she  ran  out  under  the  awning-  and  looked  up  and 
down  the  platform  in  front  of  the  station  buildings. 
The  rain  had  ceased,  but  drops  still  pattered  from  the 
tin  roof,  and  a  few  stars  peeped  over  the  ragged  ra 
velled  edge  of  slowly  drifting  clouds.  By  the  light  of 
a  gas  lamp,  she  saw  an  old  negro  man  limping  away, 
who  held  a  stick  over  his  shoulder,  on  which  was  slung 
a  bundle  wrapped  in  a  red  handkerchief ;  and  while 
she  stood  watching,  he  vanished  in  some  cul  de  sac. 
With  her  basket  in  her  hand,  and  her  shawl  on  her 
arm,  she  sped  down  the  track,  looking  to  right  and 
left. 

"  Bertie  !     Bertie  1" 

Once  she  fancied  she  discerned  a  form  flying  ahead 
of  ker,  leaping  from  cross  tie  to  cross  tie  to  avoid  the 
water,  but  when  she  called  vehemently,  only  the  sound 
of  her  own  voice  broke  the  silence. 

Was  it  merely  an  illusion  born  of  her  vivid  dream  of 
her  brother  ;  and  while  scarcely  awake,  had  she  con 
founded  the  tones  of  a  stranger,  with  those  so  long 
familiar  ?  She  could  not  shake  off  the  conviction  that 
Bertie  had  really  spoken  only  a  few  yards  from  her, 
and  while  she  stood  irresolute,  puzzling  over  the  prob 
lem,  the  through  freight  train  dashed  by  the  sta 
tion  and  left  a  trail  of  sparks  and  cinders.  To  avoid 
it  she  sprang  on  a  pile  of  cross  ties  beside  the  track, 
and  when  the  fiery  serpent  wound  out  of  sight,  she  re- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  57 

luctantly  retraced  her  steps.  How  long  the  night 
seemed  !  Would  day  never  dawn  again  ?  She  heard 
the  telegraph  operator  whistling  at  his  work,  and  as 
she  re-entered  the  waiting-room,  she  saw  the  ticket 
agent  standing  in  his  office. 

"  What  time  is  it  ?" 

"Half -past  two  o'clock.  I  might  as  well  have 
locked  up  as  usual,  for  after  all,  you  did  not  stay 
here." 

"Yes  I  did." 

He  eyed  her  suspiciously. 

"  I  came  back  from  supper,  and  brought  a  pitcher 
of  cold  tea,  thinking  you  might  relish  it,  but  you  were 
not  here.  I  waited  nearly  an  hour;  then  I  went 
home." 

"  It  was  so  hot,  I  walked  about  outside.  What  a 
frightful  storm." 

"Yes,  perfectly  awful.  Were  you  exposed  to  the 
worst  of  it?" 

"  No,  I  was  here." 

He  shook  his  head,  smiled,  and  went  into  the  next 
room,  knowing  that  when  he  returned  to  unlock  his 
office  she  was  not  in  the  building,  and  that  he  had 
seen  her  coming  up  the  railway  track.  The  bustle 
of  preparation  soon  began  ;  the  baggage  wagons  thun 
dered  up  to  the  platform,  porters  called  to  one 
another;  passengers  collected  in  the  waiting-room, 
carriages  and  omnibuses  dashed  about;  then  at  2:50 
the  long  train  of  north  bound  cars  swept  in.  With 
her  shawl  and  basket  in  one  hand,  and  the  odorous 
bunches  of  chrysanthemums  clasped  in  the  other, 
Beryl  stepped  upon  the  platform.  She  found  a  seat 
at  an  open  window,  and  made  herself  comfortable ; 
placing  her  feet  upon  the  basket  which  contained  the 
jewels  that  constituted  her  sole  earthly  fortune.  The 


5$  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

bell  rang,  the  train  glided  on,  and  as  it  passed  the 
office  door,  she  saw  the  agent  watching  her,  with  a 
strangely  suspicious  expression. 

The  cars  wound  around  a  curve,  and  she  sank  back 
and  shut  her  eyes,  rejoicing  in  the  belief  that  her 
mission  to  "  Elm  Bluff,"  and  its  keen  humiliation,  were 
forever  ended. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

«T  CONCEDE  that  point.    Your  lover  is  amply  en. 

-*•  dowed  with  brains,  and  moreover  has  a  vast 
amount  of  shrewdness,  all  that  is  requisite  to  secure 
success  and  eminence  in  his  profession ;  but  to-day,  it 
seems  as  much  a  matter  of  astonishment  to  me — as  it 
certainly  was  six  months  ago,  when  first  you  told  me 
of  your  engagement — that  you,  Leo  Gordon,  could  ever 
fancy  just  such  a  man  as  Lennox  Dunbar." 

"  I  am  very  sorry,  Aunt  Patty,  that  he  finds  no  fa 
vor  in  your  eyes,  and  I  think  he  is  aware  of  the 
fact  that  he  is  not  in  your  good  graces.  You  both 
look  so  vaguely  uncomfortable  when  thrown  into  each 
other's  presence ;  but  for  my  sake  you  must  try  to 
like  Lennox." 

Miss  Gordon  bent  her  pretty  head  over  a  square  of 
ruby  velvet,  whereon  she  was  embroidering  a  wreath  of 
pansies,  and  the  delicate  flush  on  her  fair  face,  deep 
ened  to  a  vivid  carnation. 

"  My  likes  or  dislikes  are  a  matter  of  moonshine,  in 
comparison  with  your  happiness.  Because  you  are  an 
orphan,  I  feel  a  sort  of  responsibility;  and  sometimes 
I  am  not  exactly  easy  over  the  account  of  my  steward 
ship  I  must  render  to  my  poor  dead  Marcia.  The  more 


AT  THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  59 

I  see  of  your  lover,  the  more  I  dread  your  marriage, 
A  man  who  makes  no  profession  of  religious  belief, 
is  an  unsafe  guardian  of  any  woman's  peace  of  mind. 
You  who  have  been  reared  almost  in  the  shadow  of 
the  altar,  accustomed  to  hearing  grace  at  your  meals, 
to  family  prayers,  to  strict  observance  of  our  ritual, 
will  feel  isolated  indeed,  when  transplanted  to  the 
home  of  a  godless  man,  who  rarely  darkens  the  door 
of  the  sanctuary.  '  Be  ye  not  unequally  yoked  to 
gether  with  unbelievers.' ' 

Miss  Patty  Dent  took  off  her  spectacles,  wiped  them 
with  the  string  of  her  white  muslin  cap,  and  adjusting 
them  firmly  on  her  nose,  plucked  nervously  at  the 
fluted  lace  ruffles  around  her  wrists. 

"  Auntie,  you  are  scarcely  warranted  in  using  such 
strong  language.  Because  a  man  refrains  from  the 
public  avowal  of  faith,  incident  to  church  membership, 
he  is  not  necessarily  godless ;  nor  inevitably  devoid 
of  true  religious  feeling.  Mr.  Dunbar  has  a  strong, 
reticent  nature,  habituated  to  repression  of  all  evi 
dences  of  emotion,  but  of  the  depth  and  earnestness  of 
his  real  feeling,  I  entertain  no  doubt." 

"  I  fear  your  line  and  plummet  will  never  sound  his 
depth.  You  often  speak  of  his  strength ;  but,  Leo, 
hardness  is  not  always  strength ;  and  he  is  hard,  hard. 
I  never  saw  a  man  with  a  chin  like  his,  who  was  not  ty 
rannical,  and  idolatrous  of  his  own  will.  My  dear,  such 
men  are  as  uncomfortable  to  live  in  the  same  house  with, 
as  a  smoky  chimney,  or  a  woman  with  shattered  nerves, 
or  creaking  doors,  or  draughty  windows.  They  are  a 
sort  of  everlasting  east  wind  that  never  veers,  blow 
ing  always  to  the  one  point,  attainment  ef  their  own 
ends,  mildewing  all  else.  Ugh  !" 

Miss  Patty  shivered,  and  her  companion  smiled. 

"  What  a  grewsome  picture,  Auntie  dear !    Fortu- 


60  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

nately  human  taste  is  as  diverse  and  catholic  as  the 
variety  of  human  countenances.  For  example  :  Clara 
Morse  raves  over  Mr.  Dunbar's  'clear-cut  features,  so 
immensely  classical';  and  she  pronounces  his  offend 
ing-  '  chin  simply  perfect !  fit  for  a  Greek  God  !'  ' 

"  A  very  thin  and  gauzy  partition  divides  Clara 
Morse's  brains  from  idiocy.  In  my  day,  all  such  feeble 
watery  minds  as  hers  were  regarded  as  semi-imbe 
cile,  pitied  as  intellectual  cripples,  and  wisely  kept  in 
1  he  background  of  society ;  but,  bless  me !  in  this  gen 
eration  they  skip  and  prance  to  the  very  edge  of  the 
front,  pose  in  indecent  garments  without  starch,  or 
crinoline,  or  even  the  protection  of  pleats  and  gathers  ; 
and  insult  good,  sound,  wholesome  common  sense  with 
the  sickening  affectations  they  are  pleased  to  call  '  aes 
thetics.'  Don't  waste  your  time,  and  dilute  your  own 
mind  by  quoting-  the  silly  twaddle  of  a  poor  girl  who 
was  turned  loose  too  early  on  society,  who  falls  on  her 
knees  in  ecstasies  before  a  hideous  broken-nose  tea-pot 
from  some  filthy  hovel  in  Japan ;  and  who  would  not 
dare  to  admire  the  lovliest  bit  of  Oiron  pottery,  or 
precious  old  Chelsea  claret-colored  china  in  Kensing 
ton  Museum,  until  she  had  turned  it  upside  down,  and 
hunted  the  potter's  mark  with  a  microscope.  I  say 
Mr.  Dunbar  has  a  domineering-  and  tyrannical  chin,  and 
five  years  hence,  if  you  do  not  agree  with  me,  it  will 
be  because  '  Ephraim  is  joined  to  his  idols'— clay  feet 
and  all." 

"  Then  follow  the  Bible  injunction  to  '  let  him  alone.' 
I  see  Lennox  throug-h  neither  Clara's  rosy  lenses,  nor 
your  jaundiced  glasses  ;  and  these  circular  discussions 
are  as  fruitless  as  they  are  unpleasant.  Let  us  select 
some  more  agreeable  topic.  I  gave  you  Leighton's 
letter.  What  think  you  of  his  scheme  ?" 

"  That  it  is  admirable,  worthy  of  the  brain  that  coi* 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  61 

ceived  it.  What  a  wonderful  man  he  is,  considering 
his  age  ?  Such  a  devout  and  fervent  spirit,  and  withal 
such  a  marvel  of  executive  ability.  Ah !  happy 
the  woman  who  can  command  his  wise  guardianship, 
and  renew  her  aspirations  after  holiness,  in  his  spirit 
ual  society.  I  honor,  even  more  than  I  love,  Leighton 
Douglass." 

"  So  do  I,  Aunt  Patty.  He  is  quite  my  ideal  pastor, 
and  when  he  marries,  I  hope  his  wife  will  be  worthy 
of  him  in  every  respect.  Only  a  very  noble  woman 
would  suit  my  cousin. " 

A  bright  spot  burned  on  Miss  Dent's  wrinkled  cheek, 
and  she  knitted  her  brows,  and  shook  her  head. 

"  He  is  so  absorbed  in  his  holy  work,  that  he  has  no 
leisure  for  such  trifles  as  love-making ;  but  if  he  should 
ever  honor  a  woman  by  the  offer  of  his  consecrated 
hand,  it  must  be  one  of  large  fortune,  who  will  dedi 
cate  herself  and  her  money  to  the  accomplishment  ot 
his  ecclesiastical  schemes." 

The  corners  of  Miss  Gordon's  mouth  twitched 
mutinously,  but  she  contrived  to  throw  much  innocent 
surprise  and  questioning  into  the  handsome  brown 
eyes,  which  she  lifted  from  her  gold-hearted  pansies, 
to  her  Aunt's  face. 

"  Could  you  possibly  associate  mercenary  motives 
with  any  step  which  he  might  take  ?  Such  a  supposi 
tion  would  be  totally  incompatible  with  my  estimate 
of  his  character." 

"  When  a  man  dedicates  himself  to  a  solemn  mission, 
he  is  lifted  far  above  the  ordinary  plane,  can  dis 
pense  with  sentimental  conventionalities,  and  must 
learn  to  regard  all  human  relations  as  merely  means 
to  an  end.  Want  of  money  has  palsied  many  an  arm 
lifted  to  advance  the  good  of  the  Church;  and  zeal  with 
out  funds,  accomplishes  as  little  as  rusty  machinery 


62  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

stiff  from  lack  of  oil.  If  Dr.  Doug-lass  could  only  con 
trol  even  a  hundred  thousand  dollars,  what  shining- 
monuments  he  would  leave  to  immortalize  him !  In 
deed,  it  passes  my  comprehension  how  persons  who 
could  so  easily  help  him,  deliberately  turn  a  deaf  ear  to 
the  '  cry  from  Macedonia'." 

"  There  is  far  more  eclat  in  trips  to  Macedonia,  but 
the  God  of  recompense  does  not  forget  the  steady, 
tireless  help  and  sympathy  extended  to  the  needy,  who 
dwell  within  sight  of  our  own  doors.  Organized  society 
work  is  good,  but  individual  self-sacrifice  and  labor 
are  much  better;  and  if  every  unit  did  full  duty, 
co-operative  systems  would  not  be  so  necessary  ;  still, 
Leighton's  scheme  commends  itself  to  every  woman's 
heart,  and  when  I  answered  his  letter,  I  expressed 
cordially  my  approbation." 

"  Did  you  prove  your  faith  by  your  works,  and  send 
him  a  large  check  ?" 

"  Auntie,  dear,  do  you  expect  me  to  stultify  all  your 
training,  both  your  example  and  precept — for  lo  !  these 
many  years — by  setting  my  left  hand  to  gossip  about 
my  right  ?  I  am  very  sure. ' ' 

"  Well,  Andrew,  what  is  it  ?" 

' '  A  boy  from  Mr.  Dunbar's  office  has  just  galloped 
up,  and  says  I  am  to  tell  you,  he  can't  ride  to  the 
Falls  to-day,  as  he  expected,  because  of  some  pressing 
business ;  and  he  wants  to  know  if  the  Judge  will  come 
into  town  right  away  ?  Mr.  Dunbar  will  explain  when 
he  comes  late  this  evening." 

"  Very  well.  Tell  Daniel  I  shall  not  want  *  Kebel ' 
saddled;  and  say  to  the  messenger  that  my  Uncle  is  not 
at  home.  Aunt  Patty,  do  you  know  where  he  has  gone?' ' 

"  Doubtless  to  his  office;  where  else  should  he  be ? 
He  said  he  had  a  pile  of  tiresome  papers  to  examine 
to-day." 


AT  THUS  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  63 

Miss  Gordon  folded  up  her  work,  laid  it  away  in  a 
dainty  basket  lined  with  blue  satin  and  flounced  with 
lace ;  and  after  pausing  a  moment  to  pet  her  Aunt's 
white  Maltese  cat  which  lay  dozing  in  the  sunshine, 
walked  away  toward  a  small  hot-house,  built  quite 
near  the  dining-room,  and  connected  with  it  by  an  ar 
cade,  covered  in  summer  by  vines,,  in  winter  by  glass. 

Twenty-four  years  before  that  day,  when  a  proud 
fond  young  mother  puffed  and  tucked  the  marvel  of 
lace  and  linen  cambric,  which  was  intended  as  a  christ 
ening  robe  for  her  baby,  and  laid  it  away  with  spicery 
of  rose  leaves  and  sachet  of  lavender  and  deer  tongue, 
to  wait  until  a  "  furlough  "  allowed  the  child's  father 
to  be  present  at  the  baptism,  she  had  supposed  that 
its  delicate  folds  would  one  day  adorn  a  dimpled  rosy- 
faced  infant,  for  whom  the  name  Aurelia  Gordon  had 
long  been  selected.  Fate  cruelly  vetoed  all  the  details 
of  the  programme,  carefully  arranged  by  maternal 
affection ;  and  the  lurid  sun  that  set  in  clouds  of  smoke 
on  one  of  the  most  desperate  battles  of  the  Con 
federacy,  saw  Colonel  Gordon's  brave,  patriotic  soul 
released  on  that  long  "  furlough"  which  glory  granted 
her  heroes;  saw  his  devoted  wife  a  wailing  widow. 
The  red  burial  of  battle  had  precluded  the  solemnization 
of  baptismal  rites  at  the  sacred  marble  font ;  and  when 
four  days  after  Colonel  Gordon's  death,  his  frail  young 
wife  welcomed  the  summons  to  an  everlasting  re-union, 
she  laid  her  cold  hands  on  her  baby's  golden  head, 
and  died,  as  she  whispered : 

"Name  her  Leo,  for  her  father." 

So  it  came  to  pass,  that  the  clergyman  who  read 
the  burial  service  beside  the  mother's  coffin,  lifted  the 
cooing  infant  in  the  midst  of  a  weeping  funeral  throng, 
and  with  a  faltering  voice  baptized  her,  in  the  presence 
of  the  dead,  Leo  Gordon. 


64  fAT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

To  the  care  of  her  sister  Patty,  and  of  her  widowed 
brother,  Judge  Dent,  Mrs.  Gordon  had  consigned  her 
child ;  and  transplanted  so  early  to  her  uncle's  house, 
the  orphan  knew  no  other  home. 

When  the  problem  of  vast  numerical  preponder 
ance  had  solved  itself  in  accordance  with  the  rules 
of  avoirdupois,  and  history — fond  like  all  garrulous 
old  crones  of  repeating  even  her  inglorious  episodes 
— had  triumphantly  inscribed  on  her  bloody  tablets, 
that  once  more  the  Few  were  throttled  and 
trampled  by  the  Many,  then  the  fabled  ' '  Ragnarok  " 
of  the  Sagas  described  only  approximately  the 
doom  of  the  devastated  South.  In  the  financial 
and  social  chaos  that  followed  the  invasion  by 
"loyal"  hordes,  rushing  under  "sealed  orders"  on 
the  mission  of  "  Reconstruction,"  and  eminently  suc 
cessful  in  "reconstructing"  their  individual  fortunes, 
an  anomaly  presented  itself  for  the  consideration  of 
political  economists.  The  wealthy  classes  of  ante 
bellum  days  were  the  most  destitute  paupers  that  the 
newly-risen  Union  sun  shone  upon. 

The  French  Revolution  and  its  subsequent  eruptions 
of  Communism  failed  to  destroy  the  value  of  land  ;  and 
the  emancipation  of  Russian  serfs  may  have  stimulated 
agricultural  activity,  but  that  political  and  social 
Communism  which  the  Pandora  of  "reconstruction" 
let  loose  throughout  the  conquered  States  of  the  South, 
accomplished  all  that  the  victors  could  have  desired. 

Abandoned  \yy  the  laborers  God  had  fitted  to  endure 
toil  under  climatic  conditions  peculiar  to  the  soil,  vast 
silent  fields  of  weeds  stared  blankly,  and  the  richer  a 
man  found  himself  in  ancestral  acres,  the  more  hope 
lessly  was  he  manacled  by  taxes.  "  Rcconstructionists" 
most  thoroughly  inoculated  with  "  Loyal"  rabies,  held 
in  lofty  disdain  the  claims  oi'  widows  and  orphans,  and 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  65 

the  right  of  minors  was  as  dead  as  that  of  secession, 
In  the  general  maelstrom,  Colonel  Gordon's  large 
estate  went  to  pieces;  but  after  a  time,  Judge  Dent  took 
lessons  from  his  new  political  masters  in  the  science  of 
wrecking,  and  by  degrees,  as  fragments  and  shreds 
stranded,  he  collected  and  secreted  them.  Certain  min 
ing  interests  were  protected,  and  some  valuable  plan 
tations  in  distant  sugar  belts,  were  secured.  As  guar 
dian  of  his  sister's  daughter,  he  changed,  or  renewed 
investments  in  stocks  which  rapidly  increased  in  value, 
until  an  unusually  large  fortune  had  accumulated;  and 
verifying  figures  justified  his  boast,  that  his  niece  and 
ward  was  the  wealthiest  heiress  in  the  State. 

Reared  in  a  household  which  consisted  of  an 
elderly  uncle  and  aunt,  and  a  middle-aged  governess, 
Leo  Gordon  had  never  known  intimate  association  with 
younger  people;  and  while  her  nature  was  gentle  and 
tranquil,  she  gradually  imbibed  the  grave  and  rather 
prim  ideas  which  were  in  vogue  when  Miss  Patty  was 
the  reigning  bell  of  her  county.  Although  petted  and 
indulged,  she  had  not  been  spoiled,  and  remained 
singularly  free  from  the  selfishness  usually  developed 
in  the  character  of  an  only  child,  nurtured  in  the  midst 
of  mature  relatives.  When  eighteen  years  old,  Leo, 
accompanied  by  her  governess,  Mrs.  Eldridge,  had  been 
sent  to  New  York  and  Boston  for  educational  advant 
ages,  which  it  was  supposed  that  her  own  section  of  the 
country  could  not  supply;  and  subsequently  the  two 
went  abroad,  gleaning  knowledge  in  the  great  centres 
of  European  Art.  During  their  sojourn  in  Munich, 
Mrs.  Eldridge  died  after  a  very  brief  illness  ;  and  re 
turning  to  her  southern  home,  Leo  found  herself  the 
object  of  social  homage. 

Thoroughly  well-bred,  accomplished,  graceful  and 
pretty,  she  commanded  universal  admiration ;  yet  her 


66  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

manner  was  marked  by  a  quiet,  grave  dignity,  and  a 
peculiar  reticence,  at  variance  with  the  prevailing  type 
of  young  ladyhood,  now  alas!  too  dominant;  whose 
premature  emancipation  from  home  rule,  and  old-fash 
ioned  canons  of  decorum  renders  "  American  girlhood" 
synonymous  with  flippant  pertness.  Moulded  by  two 
women  who  were  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  Richter's 
admonition :  "  Girls  like  the  priestesses  of  old,  should 
be  educated  only  in  sacred  places,  and  never  hear, 
much  less  see,  what  is  rude,  immoral  or  violent ";  the 
pdte  tendre  of  Leo's  character  showed  unmistakably 
the  potter's  marks. 

She  shrewdly  surmised  that  the  knowledge  of  her 
unusual  wealth  contributed  to  swell  the  number  of  her 
suitors,  and  she  was  twenty-four  years  old  when  Len 
nox  Dunbar,  for  whom  she  had  long  secretly  cherished 
a  partiality,  succeeded  in  placing  his  ring  on  her  fair, 
slender  hand.  In  character  they  differed  widely,  and 
the  deep  and  tender  love  that  filled  her  heart,  found 
only  a  faint  echo  in  his  cold  and  more  selfish  nature, 
which  had  carefully  calculated  all  the  advantages  de 
rivable  from  this  alliance. 

He  cordially  admired  and  esteemed  his  brown-eyed 
fair-haired  fiancee,  considered  her  the  personification 
of  feminine  refinement  and  delicacy;  and  congratulated 
himself  warmly  on  his  great  good  fortune  in  winning 
her  affection ;  but  tender  emotions  found  little  scope 
for  exercise  in  his  intensely  practical,  busy  life,  which 
was  devoted  to  the  attainment  of  eminence  in  his  pro 
fession  ;  and  the  merely  dynamic  apparatus  which  did 
duty  as  his  heart,  had  never  been  disturbed  by  any 
feeling  sufficiently  deep  to  quicken  his  calm,  steady 
pulse. 

There  were  times,  when  Leo  wondered  whether  all 
accepted  lovers  were  as  undemonstrative  as  her  own, 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  67 

and  she  would  have  been  happier  had  he  occasionally 
forgotten  professional  aspirations,  in  the  charm  of  her 
presence ;  but  her  confidence  in  the  purity  and  fidelity 
of  his  affection  was  unshaken,  even  by  the  dismal 
predictions  of  Miss  Patty,  who  found  it  impossible  to 
reconcile  herself  to  the  failure  of  her  darling  scheme, 
that  Leo  should  marry  her  second  cousin,  Leighton 
Douglass,  D.D.,  and  devote  her  fortune  to  the  ad 
vancement  of  his  church. 

To-day,  as  she  sought  pleasant  work  in  arranging 
the  ferns  and  carnations  of  her  conservatory,  her 
thoughts  reverted  to  the  previous  evening,  which  Mr. 
D unbar  had  spent  with  her ;  and  she  could  not  avoid 
indulging  regret,  that  he  should  have  allowed  business 
a  flairs  to  interfere  with  their  engagement  for  horse 
back  riding,  but  her  reverie  was  speedily  interrupted 
by  the  excited  tones  of  her  aunt's  voice. 

"  Leo  !    Leo  !    Where  do  you  hide  yourself  ?" 

"  Here,  Auntie,  in  the  conservatory." 

"  Oh  !  my  child,  such  dreadful  news !  Such  a  fright 
ful  tragedy!" 

Pale  and  panting,  Miss  Patty  ran  down  the  arcade, 
and  stumbled  over  a  barricade  of  potted  plants  on  the 
threshold  of  the  door. 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?  Is  it  my  Uncle,  or — or  Len 
nox  ?" 

Leo  sprang  to  her  feet,  and  caught  her  aunt's 
arm. 

"  Horrible !  horrible !  General  Darrington  was 
robbed,  and  then  most  brutally  murdered  last  night  1" 

"  Murdered  I  Can  it  be  possible  ?  Murdered — by 
whom?" 

"How  should  I  know?  The  whole  town  is  wild 
about  it.  My  brother  is  at  Elm  Bluff,  with  the  body, 
and  I  shall  take  the  carriage  and  drive  over  there 


68  AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

at  once.  Dear  me ;  I  am  so  nervous  I  can't  stand  still, 
and  my  teeth  chatter  like  a  pair  of  castanets." 

"  Perhaps  there  may  be  some  mistake.  How  did 
you  hear  it  ?" 

"  Your  Uncle  Mitchell  sent  a  boy  to  tell  me  why  he 
was  detained.  There  has  been  a  coroner's  inquest, 
and  of  course,  as  an  old  and  intimate  friend  of  General 
Darrington's,  Mitchell  feels  he  must  do  all  he  can. 
Poor  old  gentleman  !  So  proud  and  aristocratic  !  To 
be  murdered  in  his  own  house,  like  any  common  pau 
per  !  Positively  it  makes  me  sick.  May  the  Lord 
have  mercy  on  his  soul." 

"  Amen !"  murmured  Leo. 

"  Will  you  go  with  me  to  Elm  Bluff  ?" 

"  Oh,  no  !  Not  for  worlds.  Why  should  I  ?  Women 
will  only  be  in  the  way;  and  who  could  desire  to  con 
template  so  horrible  a  spectacle  ?  It  will  merely  har 
row  your  feelings,  Aunt  Patty,  and  you  can  do  no 
good." 

"  It  is  my  Christian  duty  as  a  neighbor  ;  and  I  was 
always  very  fond  of  the  first  Mrs.  Darrington,  Helena 
Tracey.  What  is  this  wicked  world  coming  to  ?  Rob 
bery  and  murder  stalking  bare-faced  through  the  land. 
It  will  be  a  dreadful  blow  to  Mitchell,  because  he  and 
Luke  Darrington  have  been  intimate  all  their  lives. 
I  see  the  carriage  coming  round,  so  I  must  get  my 
bonnet  and  wrap." 

' '  I  presume  Mr.  Dunbar  is  engaged  in  the  same 
melancholy  details  which  occupy  my  uncle." 

"  Doubtless  he  is,  because  his  father  was  General 
Darlington's  attorney  until  his  health  failed ;  and 
Lennox  is  now  his  lawyer  and  business  agent.  It  is 
a  thousand  pities  that  Prince  is  away  in  Europe." 

Two  hours  after  the  carriage  had  disappeared  on  the 
road  leading  to  Elm  Bluff,  Leo  crossed  the  grassy 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  69 

lawn,  and  sat  down  near  the  gate,  on  a  rustic  bench 
under  a  cluster  of  tall  lilacs,  which  gave  their  name 
to  her  uncle's  home. 

A  keen  north  wind  whistling  through  neighboring 
walnut  tree  tops,  drove  the  dying  leaves  like  fright 
ened  flocks  before  it,  and  ever  and  anon  the  ripened 
nuts  pattered  down,  hiding  themselves  under  the 
drift  of  yellow  foliage,  that  had  sheltered  them  in 
cool  greenery  during  summer  heats.  Overhead  a  red 
squirrel  barked  and  frisked,  and  across  the  pale-blue 
sky,  feathered  nomads,  teal  or  mallard,  moved  swiftly 
en  echelon,  their  quivering  pinions  flashing  like  silver, 
as  they  fled  southward.  On  a  distant  hillside  cattle 
browsed,  and  sheep  wandered ;  and  the  drowsy  tinkle 
of  bells,  as  the  herd  wended  homeward,  seemed  a  noc 
turne  of  rest,  for  the  closing  day. 

How  serene,  harmonious  and  holy  all  nature  appear 
ed  ;  and  yet  a  few  miles  distant,  into  what  a  fierce 
seething  whirlpool  of  conflicting  passions,  of  hatred 
and  bloodthirsty  vengeance,  had  human  crime  plunged 
an  entire  community.  We  plume  ourselves  upon 
nineteenth  century  civilization,  upon  ethical  advance 
ment,  upon  Christian  progress  ;  we  adorn  our  cathe 
drals,  build  temples  for  art  treasures,  and  museums 
for  science,  and  listen  to  preludes  of  the  "  music  of  the 
future ;"  and  we  shudder  at  the  mention  of  vice,  as  at 
the  remembrance  of  the  tortures  of  Regulus,  but 
will  the  Cain  type  ever  become  extinct,  like  the  dodo, 
or  the  ichthyosaurus  ?  When  will  the  laws  of  here 
dity,  and  the  by-laws  of  agnation  result  in  an  altruism, 
where  human  bloodshed  is  an  unknown  horror  ? 

The  apostles  of  Evolution  tell  us,  that  in  the  gene 
alogical  ages  during  which  man  has  struggled  up 
ward,  from  the  lower  stages  of  vertebrate  and  mam 
mal  to  the  genus  of  catarrhine  apes,  he  has  gradually 


70  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

thrown  off  bestial  instincts,  and  that  the  tiger  taint 
will  ultimately  be  totally  eliminated ;  that  "  original 
sin  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  the  brute  inheritance 
which  every  man  carries  with  him,  and  that  Evolution 
is  an  advance  toward  true  salvation . ' '  Meanwhile  what 
becomes  of  the  "  Survival  of  the  Fittest ",  which  is 
only  a  euphemism  for  the  strangling  of  the  feeble  by 
the  strong?  We  can  understand  how  perfection,  or 
permanence  of  type,  individual  and  national,  demands 
carnage,  and  entails  all  the  dire  catalogue  of  human 
woes,  but  wherein  is  Altruism  evolved  ?  How  many 
aeons  shall  we  wait,  to  behold  the  leopard  and  the 
lamb  pasturing  together  in  peace  ? 

Pondering  this  problem,  as  he  rode  along  the 
public  road  outside  the  boundary  of  Judge  Dent's 
laAvn,  Mr.  D unbar  caught  a  glimpse  of  his  betrothed, 
sitting  behind  the  hedge  of  lilacs,  and  he  lifted  his 
hat,  hoping  that  she  would  meet  him  at  the  entrance ; 
but  although  she  bowed  in  recognition,  he  was  forced 
to  open  the  gate  and  admit  himself.  Throwing  the 
bridle  rein  over  one  of  the  iron  spikes  of  the  fence,  and 
taking  off  his  gloves,  he  approached  the  bench. 

"Dare  I  flatter  myself,  that  my  queen  deigns  to 
meet  me  half  way  ?" 

He  took  her  outstretched  hand,  and  kissed  it  softly, 
while  his  glance  noted  every  detail  of  her  handsome 
fawn-colored  dress,  with  its  jabot  of  creamy  lace,  and 
the  cluster  of  crimson  carnations  in  her  belt.  The 
touch  of  his  lips  on  her  fingers,  deepened  the  flush 
in  her  cheeks,  and,  making  room  for  him  beside  her, 
she  replied : 

"  Sit  down,  and  tell  me  if  this  dreadful  news  about 
General  Darrington  be  indeed  true?  I  have  hoped 
there  might  be  some  mistake,  some  exaggeration." 

"Some    horrors    exceed    the    possibility  of  verbal 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  71 

exaggeration,  and  last  night's  tragedy  is  one  of  that 
class.  General  Darrington  was  most  brutally  mur 
dered." 

"  Poor  old  gentleman !  How  incredible  it  seems 
that  such  awful  crimes  can  be  committed  in  our  quiet 
neighborhood  ?  Who  could  have  been  so  guilty ;  and 
what  motive  could  have  prompted  such  a  fiendish 
act?" 

"The  one  all-powerful  evil  passion  of  mankind 
— greed  of  gold ;  lust  of  filthy  lucre.  He  was 
first  robbed,  then  murdered  by  the  thief,  to  avoid  de 
tection  and  punishment.  There  is  unmistakable  evi 
dence  that  the  General  was  chloroformed  while  asleep ; 
but  he  must  have  awakened  in  time  to  discover  the 
robber,  with  whom  he  struggled  desperately,  and  by 
whom  he  was  struck  down.  The  coroner's  inquest 
developed  some  startling  facts." 

"  Has  any  clue  been  discovered  which  would  indi 
cate  the  murderer  ?" 

"  A  handful  of  clues." 

"  Then  you  have  a  theory  concerning  the  person, 
who  perpetrated  this  awful  crime  ?" 

"My  dear  Leo,  not  a  theory,  but  a  conviction;  I 
might  almost  say  an  absolute  knowledge." 

"  Would  it  be  pardonable  for  me  to  ask  whom  you 
suspect ;  would  it  be  a  violation  of  professional  eti 
quette  for  you  to  tell  me  ?" 

"  Certainly,  my  dearest,  you  can  ask  me  anything, 
only — "  he  paused  a  moment;  and  she  put  her  hand 
quickly  on  his  arm. 

"  I  see.  Do  not  tell  me  mere  suspicions  ;  they  might 
cruelly  wrong  an  innocent  person ;  and  I  ought  not  to 
have  asked  the  question." 

"My  hesitation  arose  from  a  totally  different  source, 
and  I  was  merely  wondering  whether  you,  my  sweet 


72  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

saint,  could  believe  that  a  woman  committed  the 
bloody  deed." 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Dunbar,  impossible !  A  woman  guilty  of 
taking1  that  old  man's  life  ?  The  supposition  is  as 
horrible  as  the  crime  itself." 

Passing  his  hand  lightly  over  her  crimped  fair  hair, 
and  looking  down  into  her  eyes,  as  brown  as  the  back 
of  a  thrush,  her  lover  replied : 

"I  find  that  the  nobler  and  purer  a  woman's  heart 
is,  the  less  she  credits  the  existence  of  vice  and  the 
possibility  of  crime  among  her  own  sex.  You  doubt 
less  consider  the  Brinvilliers,  Fredegonds,  Fulvias  and 
Faustinas,  quite  as  fabulous  as  Centaurs,  Sirens  and 
Were-wolves ;  and  I  feel  as  reluctant  to  shake  your 
fair  faith  in  womanhood,  as  to  dash  the  dew  from  a 
rose-bud,  or  rudely  brush  the  bloom  from  a  cluster  of 
tempting  grapes ;  but  the  grim  truth  must  be  told, 
that  our  old  friend  was  robbed  and  murdered  by  a 
woman." 

"  One  of  his  servants  ?  They  all  seemed  devotedly 
attached  to  him." 

"  No,  by  his  grand-daughter,  a  young  and  very 
beautiful  woman ;  Beryl  Brentano,  the  child  of  Gen 
eral  Darrington's  daughter  Ellice,  whom  he  had  dis 
owned  on  account  of  her  wretched  marriage  with  a 
foreigner,  who  taught  her  music  and  the  languages. 
Of  course  you  have  heard  from  your  aunt  and  uncle 
all  the  details  of  that  family  episode.  Yesterday  this 
girl  Beryl  suddenly  presented  herself  at  Elm  Bluff, 
and  demanded  money  from  her  grandfather ;  alleging 
that  her  mother's  life  was  in  danger  for  want  of  it.  I 
learn  there  was  a  stormy  interview,  part  of  the  con 
versation  having  been  overheard  by  two  persons  ;  and 
the  General,  who  was  as  vindictive  as  a  Modoc  or  a 
Cossack,  drove  her  from  his  room,  out  through  the 


AT  THE   MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  73 

door  leading  down  to  the  rosery.  This  occurred  in  the 
afternoon,  immediately  after  I  left  Elm  Bluff,  where  I 
went  to  obtain  his  signature  to  a  deed  to  some  lands 
recently  sold  in  Texas.  I  saw  the  girl  sitting  on  the 
front  steps,  and  when  she  rose  and  looked  at  me,  her 
superb  physique  impressed  me  powerfully.  She  is  as 
beautiful  and  stately  as  some  goddess  stepping  out  of 
the  Norse '  Edda',  and  altogether  a  remarkable  looking 
person.  It  will  appear  in  evidence,  that  the  General 
harshly  refused  her  pleadings,  and  made  a  point  of  as 
suring  her  that  his  will,  already  prepared, would  forever 
debar  her  mother  and  herself  from  any  inheritance  at 
his  death;  as  he  had  bequeathed  his  entire  estate  to 
his  adopted  son  Prince.  Unfortunately,  she  learned 
where  the  will  was  kept,  as  during  the  interview, 
persons  in  the  next  room  distinctly  heard  the  peculiar 
noise  made  by  the  sliding  door  of  the  iron  vault,  where 
General  Darrington  kept  all  his  valuable  papers.  She 
disappeared  from  Elm  Bluff  about  sunset,  going 
toward  town ;  and  last  night  at  ten  o'clock,  when  I  left 
you  and  rode  home,  I  saw  her  lurking  in  the  pine 
woods  not  very  far  from  the  bridge  over  the  branch, 
near  the  park  gate.  She  was  evidently  hiding,  as  she 
sat  on  the  ground  half  screened  by  a  tree ;  but  my 
horse  shied  and  plunged  badly,  and  when  she  rose,  the 
full  moon  showed  her  face  and  figure  distinctly.  There 
was  something  so  mysterious  in  her  movements,  that 
I  asked  her  if  she  had  lost  her  way;  to  which  she 
curtly  replied  that  she  had  not.  I  learn  from  Burk, 
the  station  agent,  that  her  actions  aroused  his 
suspicion,  and  that  instead  of  leaving  town,  as  she 
said  she  intended,  by  the  7:15  train,  she  hung  about 
the  station,  and  finally  took  the  3:05  express  this 
morning.  He  said  she  had  begged  permission  to  stay 
in  the  waiting-room,  but  that  at  2:30  A.M.,  when  he 


74  AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

went  back  to  open  the  ticket-office,  she  was  nowhere 
to  be  found;  and  that  later,  he  saw  her  coming-  down 
the  railroad  track.  She  must  have  gone  back  to  Elm 
Bluff  after  I  passed  her  on  the  road,  and  effected  an 
entrance  through  the  window  on  the  front  piazza,  as 
it  was  found  open ;  and  the  awful  work  of  robbery  and 
murder  was  accomplished  during  the  storm,  which 
you  know  was  so  frightful  that  it  drowned  all  minor 
sounds.  This  morning  when  the  General  did  not  riiii; 
for  his  hot  water  at  the  usual  time,  it  was  supposed 
that  he  was  sleeping  late,  but  finally  old  Bedney 
knocked.  Unable  to  arouse  his  master,  he  opened  the 
door,  and  found  our  old  friend  lying  on  the  floor,  near 
the  fire-place.  He  had  been  dead  for  hours,  and  close 
to  his  head  was  a  heavy  brass  andiron,  which  evident 
ly  had  been  snatched  from  the  hearth  by  the  mur 
deress,  who  must  have  dealt  the  fatal  blow  with 
it,  as  there  was  a  dark  spot  on  his  temple,  and  also 
on  the  left  side  near  the  heart.  The  room  was  in 
disorder,  and  two  glass  vases  on  the  mantel  were 
shivered,  as  though  some  missile  had  struck  them 
— probably  a  heavy  ledger  which  was  found  on  the 
floor." 

"  How  horrible  !  But  no  woman  could  have  over 
powered  a  man  like  General  Darrington." 

"  Physically,  his  granddaughter  was  more  than  a 
match  for  him,  especially  since  his  last  illness ;  and  I 
assure  you  she  looks  like  some  daughter  of  the  Vik 
ings.  She  certainty  is  a  woman  of  grand  proportions, 
and  wonderfully  symmetrical." 

"  What  is  her  age  ?" 

"About  eighteen,  I  should  think;  though  her  size 
and  a  certain  majestic  bearing  might  convey  the  im 
pression  that  she  was  older." 

"  How  can  you  connect  so  dreadful  a  crime  with  a 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  7& 

young  and  beautiful  woman,  of  whom  you  know  abso 
lutely  nothing  ?" 

"  My  theory  is,  that  she  intended  merely  to  get  pos 
session  of  the  will,  the  contents  of  which  had  been 
made  known  to  her — and  of  the  money,  that  she  knew 
or  surmised  was  kept  in  the  vault.  When  the  effect 
of  the  chloroform  wore  off,  and  the  General  waked  to 
find  her  at  the  vault,  a  struggle  evidently  took  place, 
and  in  desperation  at  the  thought  of  being  detected, 
she  killed  him.  You  do  not  understand  all  the  bear 
ings  of  even  slight  circumstances  in  a  case  like  this, 
but  we  who  make  a  study  of  such  sad  matters,  know 
the  significance  of  the  disappearance  of  the  will ;  the 
destruction  of  which  could  benefit  only  her  mother 
and  herself.  The  vault  was  open;  the  gold,  silver, 
some  valuable  jewelry,  and  the  will  are  missing 
from  the  tin-box.  All  the  other  papers  were  left, 
even  a  package  of  bonds,  amounting  to  thousands  of 
dollars.  She  seemed  to  know  that  the  bonds  might 
lead  to  detection,  hence  she  did  not  take  them.  On 
the  floor,  and  hi  the  bottom  of  the  tin-box  were  found 
two  twenty-dollar  gold  pieces.  We  are  collecting  all 
the  evidence,  and  it  constitutes  a  powerful  array  of 
proof." 

"  We  ?  Do  you  mean  that  you  are  hunting  down 
a  woman  ?" 

Miss  Gordon  withdrew  her  hand  from  her  lover's, 
and  instinctively  moved  farther  from  him. 

"  I  am  most  diligently  hunting  down  the  author  of  a 
foul  and  awful  crime  ;  and  it  is  my  duty  to  my  friend 
and  client  to  use  every  possible  exertion,  in  discover 
ing  and  bringing  to  punishment  the  person,  wh(? 
robbed  and  murdered  him — be  it  man,  woman  or  child. 
Feminine  youth  and  beauty  are  no  aegis  against  the 
barbed  javelins  of  justice,  and  the  District  Solicitor 


76  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

(Mr.  Churchill)  and  I,  have  no  doubt  of  the  guilt  of 
the  woman,  who  will  soon  be  put  on  trial  here  for  her 
monstrous  and  unnatural  crime." 


CHAPTER  V. 

TNa  deep,  narrow  "railway  cut,"  through  Virginia 
hills,  a  south-bound  freight  train  had  been  so 
badly  wrecked  in  consequence  of  a  "  washout,"  that  the 
southern  passenger  express  going  north  was  detained 
fourteen  hours ;  thereby  missing  connection  at  Wash 
ington  City,  where  the  passengers  were  again  delayed 
nearly  twelve  hours.  Tired  and  very  hungry,  having 
eaten  nothing  but  a  sandwich  and  a  cup  of  coffee  for 
three  days,  Beryl  felt  profoundly  thankful  when  the 
cars  rolled  into  Jersey  City.  In  the  bustle  and  confu 
sion  incident  to  arrival  in  that  Babel,  she  did  not  observe 
the  scrutiny  to  which  she  was  subjected  by  a  man  gen 
teelly  dressed,  who  gave  her  his  hand  as  she  stepped 
down  from  the  train,  and  kept  by  her  side  while  she 
hastened  in  the  direction  of  the  ferry. 

Reaching  the  slip  where  the  boat  awaited  passen 
gers,  she  was  vexed  to  see  it  backing  out  into  the 
stream,  and  leaned  against  the  chain  which  barred 
egress  until  the  next  trip. 

"  You  have  only  five  minutes  to  wait  for  the  boat. 
You  seem  to  have  had  a  long  and  trying  journey, 
madam  ?" 

Glancing  at  him  for  the  first  time,  Beryl  perceived 
that  he  held  a  slip  of  yellow  paper  from  which  he 
looked  now  and  then  to  hsr  face.  His  features 
coarse  and  heavv,  but  His  eyes  were  keen  aa  a,  rerreo 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  77 

and  without  answering  his  question,  she  turned  away 
and  looked  across  the  water  which  teemed  with  craft 
of  every  description,  laden  with  freight  animate  and 
inanimate,  passing  to  and  from  the  vast  city,  whose 
spires,  domes  and  forest  of  masts  rose  like  a  gray 
cloud  against  the  sky,  etching  there  their  leaden  out 
lines. 

"  You  live  at  No.  —  West street,  between  8th 

and  9th  Avenue?" 

"You  are  a  stranger,  and  your  questions  are 
offensive  and  impertinent." 

As  she  turned  and  confronted  him  haughtily,  he 
stepped  closer  to  her,  threw  back  his  blue  overcoat, 
and  pointed  to  the  metal  badge  on  his  breast. 

"  I  am  an  officer  of  the  law,  and  have  a  warrant  for 
your  arrest.  You  are  Beryl  Brentano." 

"  I  am  Beryl  Brentano,  yes ;  but  there  is  some 
blunder,  some  mistake.  How  dare  you  annoy  me  ? 
Arrest  me  ?  Me!" 

"  Do  not  make  a  scene.  My  instructions  are  to  deal 
with  you  as  gently  as  possible.  Better  come  quietly 
into  the  station  near,  and  I  will  read  you  the  warrant ; 
otherwise  I  shall  be  obliged  to  use  force.  You  see  I 
have  two  assistants  yonder." 

<  <  Arrested  for  what  ?    By  whom  ?" 

"  I  am  ordered  to  arrest  you  for  the  murder  of 
General  Darrington." 

"  Murder  !  General  Darrington  is  alive  and  well. 
I  have  just  left  him.  Stand  back !  Do  not  touch  me. 
I  will  call  on  the  police  to  protect  me." 

Laying  his  fingers  firmly  on  her  arm,  he  beckoned 
to  two  men  clad  in  police  uniform,  who  promptly 
approached. 

"  You  see  resistance  is  worse  than  useless,  and  since 
there  is  no  escape,  come  quietly." 


78  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"  You  are  insulting"  me,  under  some  frightful  mis 
take.  I  am  a  lady.  Do  I  look  like  a  criminal  ?" 

"General  Darrington  has  been  robbed  and  mur 
dered,  and  I  have  telegraphic  orders  to  arrest  and  hold 
a  woman  named  Beryl  Brentano,  who  corresponds  in 
every  respect  with  the  description  of  the  person  sus 
pected  of  having  committed  the  crime." 

Hitherto  she  had  attributed  the  insult  of  the  inter 
view  to  some  question  of  mistaken  identity,  but  as  she 
slowly  comprehended  the  possibility  that  she  was  the 
person  accused,  and  intended  for  arrest,  a  sickening 
horror  seized  and  almost  paralyzed  her,  blanching  her 
face  and  turning  her  to  stone.  As  he  led  her  along 
the  street,  she  staggered  from  the  numbness  that  pos 
sessed  her,  and  her  eyes  stared  blankly,  like  those  of 
a  somnambulist.  When  she  had  been  ushered  into 
a  room  where  several  policemen  were  lounging  and 
smoking,  the  intolerable  sense  of  shame  and  indigna 
tion  shook  off  her  apathy. 

"  This  is  a  cruel  and  outrageous  wrong,  and  only 
base  cowards  could  wantonly  insult  an  unprotected 
and  innocent  woman.  You  call  yourselves  men? 
Have  you  no  mothers,  no  sisters,  whose  memory  can 
arouse  some  reverence,  some  respect  for  womanhood 
in  your  brutal  souls  ?" 

Electric  lamps  set  in  the  sockets  of  some  marble 
face,  might  perhaps  resemble  the  blaze  that  leaped  up 
in  her  eyes,  as  she  wrenched  her  arm  from  the  officer's 
profaning  touch,  and  her  voice  rang  like  the  clash  of 
steel. 

"  Madam,  we  are  allowed  no  discretion ;  we  are  only 
the  blind  and  deaf  machines  that  obey  orders.  Head 
the  warrant,  and  you  will  understand  that  our  duty 
is  imperative." 

Again  and  again  she  read  the  paper,  in  which  the 


AT  THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  79 

sheriff  of  the  county  where  Elm  Bluff  is  situated,  de 
manded  her  arrest  and  return  to  X ,  on  the  charge 

of  robbery  and  murder  committed  during  the  night 
which  she  had  spent  at  the  station.  Then  several  tele 
grams  were  placed  before  her.  The  description  of 
herself,  her  dress,  even  of  the  little  basket  and  shawl, 
was  minutely  accurate ;  and  by  degrees  the  horror  of 
her  situation,  and  her  utter  helpessness,  became  fright 
fully  distinct.  The  papers  fell  from  her  nerveless 
fingers,  and  one  desperate  cry  broke  from  her  white 
lips: 

"  O  just  God  !  Will  you  permit  such  a  shameful, 
cruel  outrage  ?  Save  me  from  this  horrible  injustice 
and  disgrace !" 

Seeing  neither  the  men,  nor  the  room,  her  strained 
gaze  seemed  in  her  great  agony  fixed  upon  the  face  of 
Him,  who,  silvering  the  lilies  of  the  field  and  watching 
the  flight  of  sparrows,  has  tender  care  for  all  who 
trust  Him.  Even  in  this  terrible  trial,  the  girl's  first 
thought  was  of  her  mother ;  and  of  the  disastrous 
effect  that  the  misfortune  would  produce  upon  the 
invalid. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  tell  you,  that  we  are  required  to 
search  all  persons  arrested  under  similar  charges, 
and  in  the  next  room  a  female  detective  will  receive 
and  retain  every  thing  in  your  possession,  except  your 
clothing.  You  are  suspected  of  having  secreted  money, 
jewelry  and  some  very  valuable  papers." 

"  Suspected  of  being  a  common  thief  !    I  am  as  in 
nocent  as  any  angel  beside  the  throne  of  Christ !    Save 
me  at  least  from  the  degradation  of  being  searched 
Here  is  my  basket,  and  here  is  my  purse." 

She  handed  him  the  worn  leather  pocket-book,  which 
contained  only  the  few  pennies  reserved  to  pay  her 


80  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

passage  across  the  ferry,  and  turned  the  pocket  of  her 
dress  inside  out. 

At  the  tap  of  a  hand-bell,  a  tall,  angular  woman 
opened  the  door  of  an  adjoining  room. 

"  Mrs.  Foster,  you  will  very  carefully  examine  the 
prisoner,  and  search  her  clothing  for  papers,  as  well 
as  valuables." 

"  Spare  me  at  least  this  indignity  !"  cried  the  shud 
dering  girl. 

"  Come  with  me,  madam.    We  have  no  choice." 

When  the  door  closed  behind  her,  the  constable 
walked  up  and  down  the  floor. 

"How  deceitful  appearances  are!  That  woman 
looks  as  pure  and  innocent  as  an  angel,  and  I  half  be 
lieved  her  protestations ;  but  here  in  the  basket,  sure 
enough,  hidden  at  the  bottom,  are  the  jewelry  and  the 
gold.  No  sign  of  the  papers,  but  she  may  have  de 
stroyed  them." 

"Thief  or  not,  she  is  a  grand  beauty;  and  if  hei 
heart  was  not  in  that  prayer  she  put  up  just  now, 
she  is  a  grand  actress  also.  This  is  a  beastly  trade 
of  ours,  hunting  down  and  trapping  the  unwary. 
Sometimes  I  feel  no  better  than  a  sleuth-hound,  and 
that  girl's  eyes  went  through  and  through  me  a  while 
ago  like  a  two-edged  dirk." 

As  he  vented  his  views  of  his  profession,  one  of  the 
policemen  lighted  his  pipe  and  puffed  vigorously. 

Mrs.  Foster  came  back,  followed  by  her  victim. 

"  I  find  absolutely  nothing  secreted  on  the  prisoner." 

"  No  papers  of  any  description  ?" 

"None,  sir." 

"  Madam,  your  basket  contains  the  missing  jewelry 
and  money,  at  least  a  portion  of  it,  and  I  shall  place 
it  in  the  hands  of  the  sheriff." 

•'  The  money  and  jewels  are  not  mine.    They  belong 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  81 

to  my  mother,  to  whom  they  were  given  by  her 
father ;  and  she  needs  the  money  at  this  moment — " 

' '  Let  me  advise  you  to  say  as  little  as  possible  for 
your  own  sake ;  because  your  words  will  be  weighed 
against  you." 

"  I  speak  only  the  truth,  and  it  will,  it  must,  vindi 
cate  me.  What  papers  are  you  searching  for  ?" 

"  General  Darrington's  Will.  It  was  stolen  with 
the  money.  Here  is  yesterday's  paper,  with  an  ac 
count  of  the  whole  affair,  telegraphed  from  X—  — . 
If  you  need  to  learn  anything,  you  will  understand 
when  you  read  it." 

The  sight  of  the  capital  letters  in  the  Telegraphic 
Despatches,  coupling  her  name  with  a  heinous  and 
revolting  crime,  seemed  to  stab  her  eyes  with  red-hot 
thrusts ;  and  shivering  from  head  to  foot,  she  slowly 
realized  the  suspicious  significance  of  the  disappear 
ance  of  the  will,  which  was  the  sole  obstacle  that  de 
barred  her  from  her  grandfather's  wealth.  Although 
sustained  by  an  unfaltering  trust  in  the  omnipotence 
of  innocence,  she  was  tormented  by  a  dread  spectre 
that  would  not  "down"  at  her  bidding;  how  could 
she  prove  that  the  money  and  jewels  had  been  given 
to  her  ?  Would  the  shock  of  the  tidings  of  her  arrest 
kill  her  mother  ?  Was  there  any  possible  way  by 
which  she  might  be  kept  in  ignorance  of  this  foul  dis 
grace  ? 

Beryl  hid  her  face  in  her  hands,  and  tried  to  think, 
but  the  whole  universe  appeared  spinning  into  chaos. 
She  had  opposed  the  trip  South  so  steadily  and 
vehemently;  had  so  sorrowfully  and  reluctantly  yielded 
at  last  to  maternal  solicitation,  and  had  been  oppressed 
with  such  dire  forebodings  of  some  resultant  evil.  So 
bitter  was  her  repugnance  to  the  application  to  her 
grandfather,  that  she  had  set  out  on  her  journey 


82  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

feeling  as  though  it  were  a  challenge  to  fate ;  and 
this  was  the  answer?  The  vague  distrust,  the 
subtle  sombre  presentiment,  the  haunting  shadow  of 
an  inexplicable  ill,  had  all  meant  this;  this  bloody 
horror,  dragging  her  fair  name  down  to  the  loathsome 
mire  of  the  slums  of  crime.  Had  some  merciful  angel 
leaned  from  the  parapets  of  heaven  and  warned  her ; 
or  did  her  father's  spirit,  in  mysterious  communion  of 
deathless  love  and  prescient  guardianship,  stir  her 
soul  to  oppose  her  mother's  scheme  ?  Sceptical  and 
heedless  Tarquins  are  we  all,  whom  our  patient  Sibyl 
line  intuitions  finally  abandon  to  the  woes  which  they 
sought  to  avert. 

In  the  maddening  rush  and  whirl  of  Beryl's  reflec 
tions,  her  mother's  image  was  the  one  centre  around 
which  all  things  circled ;  and  at  length,  rallying  her 
energies,  she  turned  to  her  captor. 

"  You  intend  to  take  me  to  prison  ?" 

"I  am  obliged  to  detain  and  deliver  you  to  the 

officer  who  has  come  from  X with  the  warrant, 

and  who  will  carry  you  back  there  for  trial.  He  knew 
from  the  detentions  along  the  route,  that  he  could 
easily  overhaul  you  here,so  he  went  straight  to  Trenton 
with  a  requisition  from  the  Governor  of  his  State  upon 
Governor  Mansfield,  for  your  surrender.  It  is  but  a 
short  run  to  the  Capital,  and  he  expects  to  get  here  in 
time  to  catch  the  train  going  South  to-day.  We  had 
a  telegram  a  while  ago,  saying  the  papers  were  all 
right,  and  that  he  would  meet  us  at  the  train,  as  there 
will  be  only  a  few  moments  to  spare." 

"  But  I  must  first  see  my  mother.  I  must  give  her 
the  money  and  explain — ' 

'  *  The  money  will  be  claimed  by  the  officer  who  takes 
charge  of  you." 

"  Have  you  no  mercy  ?    My  mother  is  ill,  destitute ; 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  83 

and  she  will  die  unless  I  can  go  to  her.  Oh !  I  beg  of 
you,  for  the  sake  of  common  humanity,  carry  me 
home,  if  only  for  five  minutes  !  Just  let  me  see  mother, 
let  me  speak  to  her  !" 

In  the  intensity  of  her  dread,  she  fell  upon  her  knees, 
and  lifted  her  hands  imploringly;  and  the  anguish  in 
her  white  quivering  face  was  so  piteous  that  the  man 
turned  his  head  away. 

"  I  would  oblige  you  if  I  could,  but  it  is  impossible. 
The  law  is  cruel,  as  you  say,  but  it  is  intended  as  a 
terror  to  evil-doers.  Things  look  awfully  black  for 
you,  but  all  the  same  I  am  sorry  for  you,  if  your 
mother  is  to  suffer  for  your  deeds.  If  you  wish  to 
write  to  her,  I  will  see  that  she  receives  your  note;  but 
you  have  very  little  time  k*t." 

"  O  God !  how  hard !  What  a  foul,  horrible  wrong 
inflicted  upon  the  innocent !" 

She  cowered  on  the  floor,  unconscious  that  she  still 
knelt ;  seeing  only  the  suffering  woman  in  that  dreary 
attic  across  the  river,  where  sunken  feverish  eyes 
watched  for  her  return. 

Accidentally  Beryl's  gaze  fell  on  the  bunch  of  faded 
chrysanthemums  which  had  dropped  unnoticed  on 
the  floor,  and  snatching  them  she  buried  her  face  in 
their  petals.  Their  perfume  was  the  potent  spell 
that  now  melted  her  to  tears,  and  the  tension  of  her 
overtaxed  nerves  gave  way  in  a  passionate  burst  of 
sobs.  When  she  rose  a  few  moments  later,  the  storm 
had  passed;  the  face  regained  its  stony  rigidity, 
and  henceforth  she  fronted  fate  with  an  unnatural 
calmness. 

"  Will  you  give  me  some  paper  and  a  pen  ?" 

"  You  can  write  here  at  the  desk." 

Mrs.  Foster  approached  her,  and  said  hesitat 
ingly  : 


B4:  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"  Would  it  comfort  you  at  all,  for  me  to  go  and  see 
your  mother  and  explain  why  you  could  not  return  to 
her  ?  I  am  very  sorry  for  you,  poor  thing." 

"  Thank  you,  but — you  could  not  explain,  and  the 
sight  of  a  stranger  would  startle  her.  In  one  way 
you  can  help  me ;  do  you  know  Dr.  Grantlin  of  New 
York?" 

"  Only  by  reputation;  but  I  can  find  him." 

"  Will  you  deliver  into  his  hand  the  note  I  am 
writing  ?' 

"  I  certainly  will." 

"How  soon?" 

"  Before  nine  o'clock  to-night." 

"  Thank  you — a  thousand  times." 

After  a  while  she  folded  a  sheet  containing  these 
words  : 

"DEAR  DR.  GRANTLIN  : 

'  *  In  the  extremity  of  my  distress,  I  appeal  to  you 
as  a  Christian  gentleman,  as  a  true  physician,  a 
healer  of  the  suffering,  and  under  God,  the  guardian 
of  my  mother's  life.  You  know  why  I  went  to  my 
grandfather.  He  gave  me  the  money,  one  hundred 
dollars,  and  some  valuable  jewels.  When  in  sight  of 
nome,  I  have  been  arrested  on  the  charge  of  having 
murdered  my  grandfather,  and  stolen  his  will.  Need 
I  tell  you  that  I  am  as  innocent  as  you  are  ?  The 
thought  of  my  mother  is  the  bitterest  drop  in  my  cup 
of  shame  and  sorrow.  You  can  judge  best,  how  much 
it  may  be  expedient  to  tell  her,  and  you  can  devise 
the  kindest  method  of  breaking  the  truth,  if  she 
must  know  it.  Have  her  removed  to  the  hospital, 
and  do  not  postpone  the  operation.  O  Doctor !  be 
pitiful,  be  tender  to  her ;  and  do  not  let  her  need 
any  little  comforts.  Some  day  I  will  pay  you  for  all 
expenses  incurred  in  her  behalf,  but  at  present  '. 
have  not  a  dollar,  as  the  money  has  been  seized.  I 
an.  sure  you  will  not  deny  my  prayer,  and  may 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  85 

God  reward  and  bless  you,  for  your  mercy  to  my  pre 
cious  mother. 

"  In  grateful  trust, 

"BERYL  BRENTANO. 
"P.  S. — If  you  approve,  deliver  the  enclosed  note." 

On  a  separate  sheet  she  wrote  : 

"  MY  DARLING  MOTHER  : 

"  Finding-  it  necessary  to  return  to  X ,  I  have 

requested  Dr.  Grantlin  to  take  particularly  good  care 
of  you  for  a  few  days.  Your  father  will  never  forgive, 
never  receive  you,  but  he  kindly  complied  with  your 
request  and  gave  me  one  hundred  dollars.  Try  to  be 
patient  until  I  can  come  and  tell  you  everything,  and 
believe  that  God  will  not  forsake  us.  With  these 
hurried  lines,  I  send  you  a  few  chrysanthemums — 
your  favorite  flowers — which  I  gathered  in  the  rose 
garden  of  your  old  home.  When  you  smell  them, 
think  of  your  little  girl  who  loves  you  better  than  her 
own  life,  and  who  will  hasten  home  at  the  earliest 
possible  moment,  to  take  you  in  her  arms.  Mother, 
pray  for  me,  and  may  God  be  very  merciful  to  you, 
my  dearest,  and  to — 

' '  Your  devoted  child, 

"BERYL." 

She  had  bound  the  withered  flowers  together  with  a 
strip  of  fringe  from  her  shawl,  and  now,  with  dry 
eyes  and  firm  white  lips,  she  kissed  them  twice,  pinned 
the  last  note  around  them  and  laid  the  whole  in  Mrs. 
Foster's  hand. 

"  I  trust  you  to  deliver  them  in  person  to  Dr. 
Grantlin  before  you  sleep  to-night ;  and  if  I  survive 
this  awful  outrage,  perpetrated  under  the  name  of 
law,  I  will  find  you  some  day,  and  thank  you." 

Looking  at  the  lovely  face,  pure  in  its  frozen  calm, 
as  some  marble  lily  in  the  lingers  of  a  monumental 
effigy,  Mrs.  Foster  felt  the  tears  dimming  her  own 
vision  ;  and  said  earnestly  : 


86  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

"  Keep  as  silent  as  possible.  The  less  you  say,  the 
safer  you  will  be ;  and  run  no  risk  of  contradicting 
your  own  statements." 

"  I  appreciate  your  motive,  but  I  have  nothing  to 
conceal." 

Beryl  laid  her  hand  on  her  shawl,  then  drew  back. 

"  Am  I  allowed  the  use  of  my  shawl?" 

"Oh,  certainly,  madam." 

The  officer  would  have  opened  and  put  it  around  her, 
but  with  an  indescribable  movement  of  proud  re 
pulsion,  she  shook  it  out,  then  wrapped  it  closely 
about  her,  and  sat  down,  keeping  her  eyes  fixed  on  the 
face  of  the  clock  ticking  over  the  fire-place.  After  a 
long  and  profound  silence,  the  man  who  had  arrested 
her,  said  gravely  and  gently : 

"  Time  is  up.  I  must  deliver  you  to  Officer  Gibson 
at  the  train.  Come  with  me." 

She  rose,  gave  her  hand  to  Mrs.  Foster,  and  stoop 
ing  suddenly  touched  with  her  lips  the  withered 
flowers,  then  followed  silently. 

In  subsequent  years,  when  she  attempted  to  recall 
consecutively  the  incidents  of  the  ensuing  forty-eight 
hours,  they  eluded  her,  like  the  flitting  phantasmago 
ria  that  throng  delirium;  yet  subtle  links  fastened 
the  details  upon  her  brain,  and  sometimes  most  unex 
pectedly,  that  psychic  necromancer — association  of 
ideas  —  selected  some  episode  from  the  sombre  kaleid 
oscope  of  this  dismal  journey,  and  set  it  in  lurid  light 
before  her,  as  startling  and  unwelcome  as  the  face  of 
an  enemy  long  dead.  Life  and  personality  partook 
in  some  degree  of  duality ;  all  that  she  had  been 
before  she  saw  Elm  Bluff,  seemed  a  hopelessly  distinct 
existence,  yet  irrevocably  chained  to  the  mutilated  and 
blackened  Afterward,  like  the  grim  and  loathsome 
unions  enforced  by  the  Noyades  of  Nantes. 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  87 

The  sun  did  not  forget  to  shine,  nor  the  moon  to  keep 
her  appointment  with  the  throbbing  stars  that  sig 
nalled  all  along  her  circuit.  Men  whistled,  children 
laughed  ;  the  train  thundered  through  tunnels,  and 
flew  across  golden  stubble  fields,  where  grain  shocks 
and  hay  stacks  crowded  like  tents  of  the  God  of 
plenty,  in  the  Autumnal  bivouac  ;  and  throughout  the 
long  days  and  dreary  lagging  nights,  Beryl  was  fully 
conscious  of  a  ceaseless  surveillance,  of  an  ever-pre 
sent  shadow,  which  was  tall  and  gaunt,  wore  a  drab 
overcoat  and  slouched  hat,  and  was  redolent  of  tobacco. 
As  silent  as  two  mummies  in  the  crypts  of  Karnac 
they  sat  side  by  side  ;  and  twice  when  the  officer 
touched  her  arm  and  asked  if  she  would  take  some 
refreshments,  she  merely  shook  her  head,  and  tight 
ened  the  folds  of  her  veil ;  shrinking  closer  to  the 
window  against  which  she  leaned.  Not  until  they 

approached  X ,  and  she  recognized  some  features 

of  the  landscape,  were  her  lips  unsealed  : 

"  What  persons  are  responsible  for  my  arrest  ?" 

"  Our  District  Solicitor,  Mr.  Churchill,  and  Mr. 
Dunbar,  the  lawyer,  who  made  the  affidavit  under 
which  the  warrant  was  issued.  I  am  only  a  deputy, 
acting  under  orders  from  the  sheriff." 

"  You  are  taking  me  to  prison  ?" 

"  Perhaps  not;  it  depends  on  the  result  of  the  pre 
liminary  examination,  and  you  may  be  allowed  bail." 

A  ray  of  hope  silvered  the  shrouding  gloom  ;  there 
was  a  possibility  of  escaping  the  stain  of  incarceration. 

"When  will  the  examination  take  place  ?" 

"  About  noon  to-day.  You  will  have  time  to  eat 
something  and  freshen  up  a  little.  Here  we  are. 
What  a  crowd  to  welcome  us  !  Don't  stir.  We  will 
just  wait  a  while,  and  I  will  get  you  into  a  carriage 
as  quietly  as  possible." 


88  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

He  whispered  some  directions  to  the  conductor  of 
the  train,  and  standing-  in  the  aisle  with  his  arm  across 
the  seat,  screened  her  from  the  gaze  of  a  motley  crew 
of  men  and  boys  who  rushed  in  to  stare  at  the  pris 
oner,  whose  arrival  had  been  impatiently  expected. 
On  the  railway  platform  and  about  the  station  house 
surged  a  sea  of  human  heads,  straining-  now  in  the 
direction  of  the  first  passenger  coach ;  and  when  in 
answer  to  some  question,  the  conductor  pointed  to  the 
sleeping  car  which  was  at  the  rear  of  the  train,  the 
mass  swayed  down  the  track. 

"  Quick !     Now  is  our  time  !" 

The  deputy  sheriff  hurried  her  out,  almost  lifted  her 
from  the  steps,  and  pushing  her  forward,  turned  a 
corner  of  the  street,  and  handed  her  into  a  carriage 
which  awaited  them. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

O  Beryl  many  hours  seemed  to  have  crept  away, 
since  she  had  been  left  alone  in  a  small  dusty 
apartment,  adjoining-  the  office  where  the  chief  magis 
trate  of  X daily  held  court.  Too  restless  to  sit 

still,  she  paced  up  and  down  the  floor,  trying-  to 
collect  her  thoughts ;  and  at  last  knelt  by  the  side  of  a 
table,  and  laid  her  weight  of  dread  and  peril  before  the 
Throne  of  the  God  she  trusted.  The  Father  of  the 
fatherless  and  Friend  of  the  friendless,  would  surely 
protect  her  in  this  hour  of  intolerable  degradation. 

"O,  Thou  that  hearest  prayer;  unto  Thee  shall  all 
ilesh  come." 

The  door  opened,  and  a  venerable,  gray-haired  man 
approached  the  table,  where  her  head  was  bent  upon 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  89 

her  crossed  arms.  When  she  lifted  her  white  face, 
with  the  violet  circles  under  her  dry  eyes,  making 
them  appear  preternaturally  large  and  luminous,  and 
the  beautiful  mouth  contracted  by  a  spasm  of  intense 
pain,  a  deep  sigh  of  compassion  passed  the  stranger's 
lips. 

"I  am  Mitchell  Dent,  an  old  friend  of  General 
Darrington's,  and  of  your  mother,  who  has  often  sat 
upon  my  knee.  Because  of  my  affection  for  your 
grandfather,  I  have  asked  permission  to  see  you  for  a 
few  moments.  If  you  are  unjustly  accused,  I  desire 
to  befriend  you,  and  offer  you  some  advice.  I  am  told 
you  assert  your  innocence  of  the  great  crime  of  which 
you  are  suspected.  I  hope  you  can  prove  it ;  but  for 
your  own  sake  I  advise  you  to  waive  an  examination, 
and  await  the  action  of  the  Grand  Jury,  as  you  have 
had  no  opportunity  of  consulting  counsel,  or  preparing 
your  defence." 

"  You  knew  my  mother  ?  Then  you  should  require 
no  other  proof  that  her  child  is  not  a  criminal.  I  am 
innocent  of  every  offence  against  General  Darrington, 
except  that  of  being  my  father's  daughter ;  and  my 
unjustifiable  arrest  is  almost  as  foul  a  wrong  as  his 
murder." 

She  drew  herself  proudly  to  her  full  height,  and  as 
his  eyes  dwelt  in  irrepressible  admiration  upon  her, 
his  manhood  did  homage  to  her  grace  and  dignity,  and 
he  took  off  his  hat. 

"  I  earnestly  hope  so  ;  and  the  law  holds  every  per 
son  innocent  until  her  guilt  be  fully  proved  and  es 
tablished." 

"  Of  the  significance  of  law  terms  I  know  nothing : 
and  of  the  usages  of  courts  I  am  equally  ignorant.  If, 
as  you  suggest,  I  should  waive  an  examination,  should 
I  escape  imprisonment?" 


90  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


"  Then  I  must  be  tried  at  once  ;  because  I  want  to 
hurry  back  to  my  mother  who  is  ill,  and  needs  me." 

"  But  you  have  no  counsel  as  yet,  and  delay  is  your 
best  policy." 

"  Delay  might  cost  my  mother's  life.  I  have  no 
money  to  pay  a  lawyer  to  stand  up  and  mystify  matters, 
and  my  best  policy  is  to  defend  myself,  by  telling-  the 
simple  truth." 

Again  Judge  Dent  sighed.  Could  guilt  be  masked 
by  this  fair  semblance  of  childlike  guilelessness  ? 

"  Can  you  summon  any  witnesses  to  prove  that  you 
were  not  at  Elm  Bluff  on  the  night  of  the  storm  ?" 

"Yes,  the  ticket  agent  knows  I  was  in  the  waiting- 
room  during  that  storm." 

He  shook  his  gray  head. 

"  He  will  be  one  of  the  strongest  witnesses  against 
you." 

"Then  I  have  no  witnesses  except  —  God,  and  my 
conscience." 

The  door  opened,  and  with  his  watch  in  his  hand  the 
deputy  sheriff  entered. 

"  Sorry  to  shorten  your  interview,  Judge,  but  you 
know  we  have  a  martinet  in  yonder,  a  regular  Turk, 
and  he  splits  seconds  into  fractions." 

As  Judge  Dent  withdrew,  Beryl  realized  that  her 
hour  of  woe  had  arrived,  and  she  began  to  pin  her 
veil  tightly  over  her  face. 

"  Come  along.  You  can't  keep  your  veil  on.  Try 
to  be  as  non-committal  as  possible  when  they  ask  you 
crooked  questions.  Of  course  I  want  justice  done,  and 
I  hope  I  am  a  faithful  servant  of  the  law  ;  but  if  you 
are  as  innocent  as  a  flock  of  ring-doves,  the  lawyers 
will  try  to  confuse  you." 

He  attempted  to  lead  her,  but  she  drew  back. 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  91 

"  I  will  follow  you  ;  but  please  do  not  hold  my  arm ; 
do  not  touch  me." 

A  moment  later,  a  door  opened  and  closed,  a  glare 
of  light  showed  her  a  crowded  room  ;  a  monotonous 
hum  like  the  swell  of  the  sea  fell  on  her  ear;  then 
stifled  ejaculations,  to  which  succeeded  a  sudden, 
deathlike  hush.  The  officer  placed  a  chair  for  her  in 
front  of  the  platform  where  the  magistrate  sat,  and 
retired  to  the  rear  of  the  room.  With  some  difficulty 
Judge  Dent  made  his  way  through  the  throng  of 
spectators,  and  seated  himself  beside  Mr.  Dunbar. 

"  Well,  sir,  how  did  the  prisoner  impress  you  ?" 
asked  the  latter,  as  he  folded  up  a  paper. 

"  Dunbar,  you  have  made  a  mistake.  I  have  spent 
the  best  of  my  life  in  the  study  of  criminals  ;  and  if 
that  woman  yonder  is  not  innocent,  I  am  in  my 
dotage." 

"  Pardon  me,  Judge,  if  I  dispute  both  propositions. 
I  made  no  mistake  ;  and  you  are  merely,  in  the  good 
ness  of  your  heart,  and  the  fervor  of  your  chivalry, 
dazzled  momentarily  by  the  glamour  of  extraordinary 
beauty  and  touching  youth." 

When  Beryl  recovered  in  some  degree  from  the 
shock  of  finding  herself  actually  on  trial,  she  en 
deavored  to  collect  her  faculties;  but  the  violent 
palpitation  of  her  heart  was  almost  suffocating,  and  in 
her  ears  the  surging  as  of  an  ocean  tide,  drowned  the 
accents  of  the  magistrate.  At  first  the  words  were  as 
meaningless  as  some  Sanskrit  formula,  but  gradually 
her  attention  grasped  and  comprehended.  In  a 
strident  incisive  voice  he  read  from  a  paper  on  the  desk 
before  him : 

"At  an  inquisition  held  at  X ,  T county, 

on  the  twenty-seventh  day  of  October,  before  me, 


92  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

Jeremiah  Bateman,  Coroner  of  said  county,  on  the 
body  of  Robert  Luke  Darrington,  there  lying  dead,  by 
the  jurors  whose  names  are  hereto  subscribed ;  the 
said  jurors  upon  their  oath  do  say  that  Robert  Luke 
Darrington  came  to  his  death  on  the  night  of  Thurs 
day,  October  twenty-sixth,  by  a  murderous  assault 
committed  upon  him  by  means  of  a  heavy  brass  andiron. 
And  from  all  the  evidence  brought  before  them,  the 
juiy  believe  that  the  fatal  blow  was  feloniously  given 
by  the  hand  of  his  granddaughter,  Beryl  Brentano. 

' i  In  testimony  whereof,  the  said  jurors  have  here 
unto  set  their  hands,  this  twenty-seventh  day  of 
October,  A.D.,  18 — . 

Signed 

"Attest, 

"  JEREMIAH  BATEMAN,  Coroner." 

"  In  consequence  of  this  verdict,  and  by  virtue  of  a 
warrant  issued  at  the  request  of  the  District  Solicitor, 
Governor  Glenbeigh  made  a  prompt  requisition  for  the 
arrest  and  detention  of  the  said  Beryl  Brentano,  who 
has  been  indemnified  and  returned  to  this  city,  to 
answer  the  charges  brought  against  her.  The  prison 
er  will  unveil  and  stand  up. 

"  Beryl  Brentano,  you  are  charged  with  the  murder 
of  Robert  Luke  Darrington,  by  striking  him  Avith  a 
brass  andiron.  Are  you  guilty,  or  not  guilty  ?" 

"  Not  guilty."  Her  voice  was  unsteady,  but  the 
words  were  distinct. 

Mr.  Dunbar,  Mr.  Burk,  and  a  middle-aged  woman 
lean  as  Cassius,  came  nearer  to  the  platform,  and  after 
a  leisurely  survey  of  the  girl's  face  and  figure,  pro 
nounced  her  the  person  whom  they  had  severally 
accused  of  the  crime  of  causing  the  death  of  General 
Darrington. 

The  canons  that  govern  psychical  phenomena  are 
as  occult  as  the  abstraction  of  the  "fourth  division 
of  space  ";  and  they  defy  the  realism  of  common-place 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  93 

probability,  mock  all  analysis,  and  annihilate  distance. 
When  Beryl  had  first  met  the  keen  scrutiny  of  Mr. 
Dunbar's  glittering  blue  eyes,  their  baleful  influence 
made  her  shiver  slightly ;  and  now  at  the  instant  in 
which  he  approached,  and  inspected  her  closely,  she 
forgot  that  she  was  on  trial  for  her  life,  became  tem 
porarily  oblivious  of  her  dismal  entourage,  and  stood 
once  more  before  a  marble  image  in  the  Vatican,  where 
the  light  streamed  full  on  the  cold  face,  that  for  cen 
turies  has  been  the  synonym  of  blended  beauty  and 
cruelty.  In  her  ears  rang  again  the  words  her  father 
had  read  aloud  at  her  side,  while  she  sketched  :  "  But 
he  does  not  inspire  confidence,  by  the  smile  that  would 
like  to  express  goodness.  The  finely  cut  underlip  that 
rises  from  the  strongly  marked  hollow  over  the  chin 
ought  to  sharpen  with  a  dash  of  contempt  the  con 
scious  superiority  that  lies  upon  his  broad,  magnificent 
forehead.  His  smile  is  in  strong  contrast  with  the 
cold  gaze  of  the  large  open  eyes  ;  a  gaze  that  hesitates 
not,  but  without  mercy  verifies  a  judgment  fixed  in 
advance,  that  gives  up  every  one  to  condemnation." 
The  dusty  crowded  court-room  appeared  to  swim  in 
the  rich  aroma  distilled  from  the  creamy  hearts  of 
Roman  hyacinths ;  and  the  velvet  lips  of  purple  Roman 
violets  suddenly  babbled  out  the  secret  of  the  myster 
ious  repulsion  which  had  puzzled  her,  from  the  hour  in 
which  she  first  looked  into  Mr.  Dunbar's  face ;  his 
strange  resemblance  to  the  Chiaramonti  Tiberius, 
which  she  had  studied  and  copied  so  carefully.  In 
days  gone  by,  the  subtile  repose,  the  marvellous  beauty 
of  that  marble  face,  where  as  yet  the  demon  of  de 
struction  had  cast  no  stain,  possessed  a  singular  fasci 
nation  for  her ;  and  now  the  haunting  likeness  which 
had  perplexed  her  at  Elm  Bluff,  became  associated  in 
separably  with  old  Bedney's  description  of  Mr.  Dun- 


94  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

bar's  merciless  treatment  of  witnesses,  and  Beryl  real 
ized  with  alarming  clearness  that  in  her  grandfath 
er's  lawyer  she  had  met  the  incarnation  of  her  cruel 
fate. 

Standing  quite  near  her,  he  gravely  related,  with 
emphatic  distinctness  and  careful  detail,  his  first  meet 
ing  with  the  prisoner  on  the  piazza  at  Elm  Bluff,  and 
the  vivid  impression  she  left  on  his  mind  ;  his  return 
to  Elm  Bluff  about  half-past  nine  the  same  evening,  in 
order  to  get  a  deed  which  he  had  forgotten  to  put  into 
his  pocket  at  the  first  visit.  Learning  that  General 
Darrington  had  not  yet  retired  for  the  night,  he  sent 
in  to  ask  for  the  deed,  and  was  summoned  "  to  come 
and  get  it  himself."  On  entering  the  bed-room,  he 
found  his  client  wrapped  in  a  cashmere  dressing-gown, 
and  sitting  in  an  easy  chair  by  the  window,  which 
opened  on  the  north  or  front  piazza.  He  appeared 
much  perturbed  and  harassed,  and  in  reply  to  in 
quiries  touching  his  health,  answered  that  he  was 
"  completely  shaken  up,  and  unnerved,  by  a  very 
stormy  and  disagreeable  interview  held  that  afternoon 
with  the  child  of  his  wayward  daughter  Ellice." 
When  witness  asked:  "  Did  not  the  great  beauty  of  the 
embassadress  accomplish  the  pardon  and  restoration 
of  the  erring  mother  ?"  General  Darrington  had 
struck  his  cane  violently  on  the  floor,  and  exclaimed: 
"Don't  talk  such  infernal  nonsense!  Did  you  ever 
hear  of  my  pardoning  a  wrong  against  my  family 
name  and  honor  ?  Does  any  man  live,  idiotic  enough 
to  consider  me  so  soft-hearted  ?  No,  no.  On  the  con 
trary,  I  was  harsh  to  the  girl ;  so  harsh  that  she  turn 
ed  upon  me,  savage  as  a  strong  cub  defending  a  crip 
pled  helpless  dam.  They  know  now  that  the  last  card 
has  been  played,  and  the  game  ended  ;  for  I  gave  her 
distinctly  to  understand  that  at  my  death,  Prince 


AT  THE  MEROY  OF  TIBERIUS.  95 

would  inherit  every  iota  of  my  estate,  and  that  my  will 
had  cut  them  off  without  a  cent.  I  meant  it  then,  I 
mean  it  now.  I  swear  that  low-born  fiddler's  brood 
shall  never  darken  these  doors ;  but  somehow,  I  am  un 
able  to  get  rid  of  the  strange,  disagreeable  sensation 
the  girl  left  behind  her,  as  a  farewell  legacy.  She  stood 
there  at  that  glass  door,  and  raised  her  hand  like  a 
prophetess.  '  General  Darrington,  when  you  lie  down 
to  die,  may  God  have  more  mercy  on  your  poor  soul 
than  you  have  shown  to  your  suffering  child.' ' 

Witness  advised  him  to  go  to  bed,  and  sleep  off  the 
unpleasant  recollections  of  the  day,  but  he  said  it  was 
so  oppressively  hot,  he  wanted  to  sit  at  the  window, 
which  was  wide  open.  Witness  having  secured  the 
deed,  which  was  on  the  table  in  the  room,  bade  his 
client  good-night,  and  left  the  house. 

He  was  riding  toward  town,  and  thought  it  was  about 
ten  o'clock,  when  he  saw  the  prisoner  sitting  under  a 
pine  tree  near  the  road,  and  not  more  than  a  half  a 
mile  from  the  bridge  over  the  "  Branch"  that  runs  at 
the  foot  of  Elm  Bluff.  His  horse  had  shied  and  plunged 
at  sight  of  her,  and  the  moonlight  being  bright  as 
day,  witness  easily  recognized  her  as  the  same  person 
he  had  seen  earlier  in  the  afternoon.  Thinking  her 
appearance  there  at  that  hour  was  rather  mysterious, 
he  asked  her  if  she  had  lost  her  way ;  to  which  she  re 
plied  "No,  sir."  On  the  following  morning,  when 
the  mournful  news  of  the  murder  of  General  Darring 
ton  had  convulsed  the  entire  community  with  grief  and 
horror,  witness  had  smothered  his  reluctance  to  pro 
ceed  against  a  woman,  and  a  solemn  sense  of  duty 
forced  him  to  bring  these  suspicious  circumstances  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  District  Solicitor. 

While  he  gave  his  testimony,  Mr.  Dunbar  watched 
her  closely  foi  some  trace  of  emotion,  but  she  met  his 


96  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

gaze  without  the  movement  of  a  muscle,  and  he  detect 
ed  not  even  a  quiver  of  the  jet  lashes  that  darkened 
her  proud  grey  eyes. 

Antony  Burk  next  testified  that  he  had  given  the 
accused  instructions  about  the  road  to  Elm  Bluff,  when 
she  arrived  at  X ;  and  that  after  buying-  her  re 
turn  ticket,  she  told  him  it  was  necessary  she  should 
take  the  7.15  train,  and  that  she  would  be  sure  to  catch 
it.  The  train  was  a  few  minutes  late,  but  had  pulled 
out  of  the  station  twenty  minutes  before  the  prisoner 
•came  back,  when  she  appeared  much  annoyed  at  hav 
ing  missed  it. 

Then  she  had  sent  a  telegram  (a  copy  of  which  was  in 
the  possession  of  the  Solicitor),  and  requested  him  to 
allow  her  to  remain  in  the  ladies'  waiting-room  until 
the  next  train  at  3.05.  He  had  directed  her  to  a  hotel 
close  by,  but  she  declined  going  there.  Thinking  she 
was  fatigued  and  might  relish  it,  he  had,  after  supper, 
carried  a  pitcher  of  iced  tea  to  the  waiting-room,  but 
Chough  he  remained  there  until  nine  o'clock  she  was 
nowhere  visible.  He  went  home  and  went  to  sleep,  but 
*/he  violence  of  the  storm  aroused  him ;  and  when  he 
took  his  lantern  and  went  back  to  unlock  the  ticket 
office,  he  searched  the  whole  place,  and  the  prisoner 
was  not  in  the  building.  This  was  at  half-past  two 
A.M.,  and  the  pitcher  of  tea  remained  untouched  where 
he  had  placed  it.  It  was  not  raining  when  he  returned, 
and  a  few  minutes  after  he  had  hunted  for  the  prisoner, 
tie  was  standing  in  the  door  of  his  office  and  he  saw 
her  coming  down  the  railway  track,  from  the  direction 
of  the  water  tank  and  the  bridge.  She  was  breathing 
rapidly  as  if  she  had  been  running,  and  witness  noticed 
that  her  clothes  were  damp,  and  that  some  drops  of 
water  fell  from  the  edge  of  her  hat.  A  lamp-post  stood 
in  front  of  the  station,  and  he  saw  her  plainly; 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  97 

asked  her  why  she  did  not  stay  in  the  room,  which  he 
had  left  open  for  her  ?  Prisoner  said  she  had  remained 
there.  Witness  told  her  he  knew  better  ;  that  she  was 
not  there  at  nine  nor  yet  at  half-past  two  o'clock. 
The  accused  did  not  appear  inclined  to  talk,  and  gave 
no  explanation,  but  got  aboard  the  3.05  train.  Wit 
ness  considered  her  actions  so  suspicious,  that  he  had 
related  all  he  knew  to  Mr.  Dunbar,  who  had  summon 
ed  him  before  the  magistrate.  He  (witness)  was  very 
loath  to  think  evil  of  a  woman,  especially  one  so  beau 
tiful  and  noble  looking,  and  if  he  wronged  her,  he  hoped 
God  would  forgive  him ;  but  he  never  dodged  telling 
the  truth. 

Here  the  female  Cassius  rose,  and  gave  her  name  as 
Angeline  Dobbs. 

"  She  had  for  several  years  attended  to  the  sewing 
and  mending  at  Elm  Bluff,  being  summoned  there 
whenever  her  services  were  required.  On  the  after 
noon  previous  to  General  Darrington's  death  she  was 
sitting  at  her  needlework  in  the  hall  of  the  second 
story  of  his  house.  As  the  day  was  very  hot,  she 
had  opened  the  door  leading  out  to  an  iron  bal 
cony,  which  projected  just  over  the  front  hall 
door  down-stairs;  and  since  the  piazza,  was  open 
from  the  roof  to  the  floor,  she  had  peeped  over, 
and  seen  the  prisoner  when  she  arrived,  and  had  watch 
ed  her  while  she  sat  on  the  steps,  waiting  to  be  admitted. 
After  the  accused  had  been  inside  the  house  some  time, 
she  (witness)  recollected  that  she  had  seen  a  hole  in 
one  of  the  lace  curtains  in  the  library  down-stairs,  and 
thought  this  would  be  such  a  nice  time  to  darn  it. 
The  library  was  opposite  the  drawing  room,  and  ad 
joined  General  Darrington's  bed-room.  The  door 
was  open  and  witness  heard  what  she  supposed 
was  a  quarrel,  as  General  Darrington's  voice  was  loud 


98  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS, 

and  violent ;  and  she  distinctly  heard  him  say  :  '  My 
will  is  so  strong,  no  contest  can  touch  it !  and  it  will 
stand  forever  between  your  mother  and  my  property.' 
Soon  after,  General  Darrington  had  slammed  the  door, 
and  though  she  heard  loud  tones  for  some  time,  she 
could  not  make  out  the  words.  The  impression 
left  on  witness's  mind  was  that  the  prisoner  was 
very  impudent  to  the  old  gentleman ;  and  not  long 
afterward  she  saw  accused  standing  in  the  rose  garden, 
pretending  to  gather  some  flowers,  but  really  looking 
up  and  down  at  the  front  windows.  Witness  knew  the 
prisoner  saw  the  vault  where  the  General  kept  his 
papers,  because  she  heard  it  opened  while  she  was  in 
the  bed-room.  The  door  of  the  vault  or  safe  did  not 
open  on  hinges,  but  was  iron,  and  slid  on  a  metal  rod, 
which  made  a  very  peculiar  squeaking  sound.  When 
she  heard  the  noise  she  thought  that  General  Darring- 
ton  was  so  enraged  that  he  got  the  will  to  show  pris 
oner  it  was  all  fixed  forever,  against  her  and  her 
mother." 

When  Miss  Dobbs  sat  down,  a  lame  man,  disfigured 
by  a  scar  on  his  cheek,  leaned  upon  a  stick  and  tes 
tified  : 

"  My  name  is  Belshazzar  Tatem.  Was  an  orderly 
»ergeant  attached  to  General  Darrington's  staff  during 
the  war  ;  but  since  that  time  have  been  a  florist  and 
gardener,  and  am  employed  to  trim  hedges  and  vines, 
and  transplant  flowers  at  Elm  Bluff."  On  the  after 
noon  of  the  prisoner's  visit  there,  he  was  resetting 
violet  roots  on  a  border  under  the  western  veranda, 
upon  which  opened  the  glass  door  leading  out  from  the 
General's  bed-room.  He  had  heard  an  angry  alterca 
tion  carried  on  between  General  Darrington  and  some 
one,  and  supposed  he  was  scolding  one  of  the  servants. 
He  went  to  a  shed  in  the  barn  yard  to  get  a  spade  he 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  99 

needed,  and  when  he  came  back  he  saw  the  prisoner 
walV  clown  the  steps,  and  thought  it  singular  a 
stranger  should  leave  the  house  that  way.  Wondered 
whom  she  could  be,  and  wondered  also  that  the  Gen 
eral  had  quarrelled  with  such  a  splendid  looking  lady. 
Next  morning  when  he  went  back  to  his  work,  he 
noticed  the  glass  door  was  shut,  but  the  red  curtain 
inside  was  looped  back.  He  thought  it  was  half-past 
eight  o'clock,  when  he  heard  a  loud  cry  in  the  bed 
room,  and  very  soon  after,  somebody  screamed.  He 
ran  up  the  steps,  but  the  glass  door  was  locked  on  the 
inside,  and  when  he  went  around  and  got  into  the 
room,  the  first  thing  he  saw  was  General  Darrington's 
body  lying  on  the  floor,  with  his  feet  toward  the 
hearth,  and  his  head  almost  on  a  line  with  the  iron 
vault  built  in  the  wall.  The  servants  were  screaming 
and  wringing  their  hands,  and  he  called  them  to  help 
him  lift  the  General,  thinking  that  he  had  dropped  in  a 
fit ;  but  he  found  him  stone  cold  and  stiff.  There  was 
no  sign  of  blood  anywhere,  but  a  heavy,  old-fashioned 
brass  andiron  was  lying  close  to  the  General's  head, 
and  he  saw  a  black  spot  like  a  bruise  on  his  right  tem 
ple.  General  Darrington  wore  his  night  clothes,  and 
the  bed  showed  he  had  been  asleep  there.  Some 
broken  vases  were  on  the  floor  and  hearth,  and  the 
vault  was  wide  open.  The  tin  box  was  upside  down  on 
the  carpet,  and  some  papers  in  envelopes  were  scat 
tered  about. 

"  Witness  had  picked  up  a  leather  bag  carefully  tied 
at  the  top  with  red  tape,  drawn  into  hard  knots  ;  but 
in  one  side  he  found  a  hole  which  had  been  cut  with  a 
knife,  and  at  the  bottom  of  the  bag  was  a  twenty- 
dollar  gold  piece.  Two  more  coins  of  the  same  value 
were  discovered  on  the  floor,  when  General  Darring 
ton's  body  was  lifted ;  and  on  the  bolster  of  the  bed  lay 


100  AT  THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

a  bottle  containing  chloroform.  Witness  immediately 
sent  off  for  some  of  General  Darrington 's  friends,  and 
also  notified  the  coroner  ;  and  he  did  not  leave  the 
room  again  until  the  inquest  was  held.  The  window 
on  the  front  piazza  was  open,  and  witness  had  searched 
the  piazza  and  the  grounds  for  tracks,  but  discovered 
no  traces  of  the  burglar  and  murderer,  who  had 
escaped  before  the  rain  ceased,  otherwise  the  tracks 
would  have  been  found.  Witness  was  positive  that 
the  prisoner  was  the  same  person  whom  he  had  seen 
coming  out  of  the  bed-room,  and  with  whom  General 
Darrington  had  quarrelled." 

The  sheriff  here  handed  to  the  magistrate,  the  gold 
pieces  found  on  the  floor  at  Elm  Bluff,  by  the  last 
witness  ;  then  the  little  wicker  basket  which  had  been 
taken  from  the  prisoner  when  she  was  arrested.  The 
coins  discovered  therein  were  taken  out,  and  careful 
comparison  showed  that  they  corresponded  exactly 
with  those  picked  up  after  the  murder.  The  case  of 
sapphires  was  also  shown,  and  Mr.  Dunbar  rose  to  say, 
that  "  The  prosecution  would  prove  by  the  attorney 
who  drew  up  General  Darrington's  will,  that  these 
exceedingly  valuable  stones  had  been  bequeathed  by  a 
clause  in  that  will  to  Prince  Darrington,  as  a  bridal 
present  for  whomsoever  he  might  marry." 

A  brief  silence  ensued,  during  which  the  magistrate 
pulled  at  the  corner  of  his  tawny  mustache,  and 
earnestly  regarded  the  prisoner.  She  stood,  with 
her  beautiful  white  hands  clasped  before  her,  the 
slender  fingers  interlaced,  the  head  thrown  proudly 
back.  Extreme  pallor  had  given  place  to  a  vivid  flush 
that  dyed  her  cheeks,  and  crimsoned  her  delicate  lips; 
and  her  eyes  looking  straight  into  space,  glowed  with 
an  unnatural  and  indescribable  lustre.  Tadmo.  s 
queen  Bath  Zabbai  could  not  have  appeared  more  regal 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  101 

in  her  haughty  pose,  amid  the  exulting-  shouts  that 
rent  the  skies  of  conquering  Rome.  The  magistrate 
cleared  his  throat,  and  addressed  the  accused. 

"You  are  Beryl  Brentano,  the  granddaughter  of 
General  Darrington  ?" 

"  I  am  Beryl  Brentano." 

"  You  have  heard  the  charges  brought  against  you. 
What  have  you  to  say  in  defence  ?" 

"  That  I  am  innocent  of  every  accusation." 

"  By  what  witnesses  will  you  prove  it  ?" 

"  By  a  statement  of  the  whole  truth,  in  detail,  if  I 
may  be  allowed  to  make  it." 

Here  the  Solicitor,  Mr.  Churchill,  rose  and  said  : 

"While  faithfully  discharging  my  official  duties, 
loyalty  to  justice  does  not  smother  the  accents  of 
human  sympathy ;  and  before  proceeding  any  further, 
I  hope  your  Honor  will  appoint  some  counsel  to  confer 
with  and  advise  the  prisoner.  Her  isolation  appeals 
to  every  noble  instinct  of  manhood,  and  it  were  indeed 
puerile  tribute  to  our  lamented  General  Darrington, 
to  bring  his  granddaughter  before  this  tribunal, 
without  the  aid  and  defence  of  legal  advisers.  Justice 
itself  would  not  be  welcome  to  me,  if  unjustly  won. 
My  friend,  Mr.  Hazelton,  who  is  present,  has  expressed 
his  desire  to  defend  the  prisoner ;  and  while  I  am  aware 
that  your  Honor  is  under  the  impression  she  refuses  to 
accept  counsel,  I  trust  you  will  nevertheless  commit 
her,  until  she  can  confer  with  him." 

Mr.  Hazelton  rose  and  bowed,  in  tacit  approval. 

Beryl  advanced  a  few  steps,  and  her  clear  pure 
voice  thrilled  every  heart  in  the  crowded  room. 

"  I  need  no  help  to  tell  the  truth,  and  I  want  to  con 
ceal  nothing.  Time  is  inexpressibly  valuable  to  me 
now,  for  a  human  life  more  precious  than  my  own  is  at 
stake  ;  and  if  I  am  detained  here,  my  mother  may  die. 


102  AT   THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

May  I  speak  at  once,  and  explain  the  circumstances 
which  you  consider  so  mysterious  as  to  justify  the 
shameful  indignity  put  upon  me  ?" 

"  Since  you  assume  the  responsibility  of  your  own 
defence,  you  may  proceed  with  your  statement. 
Relate  what  occurred  from  the  hour  you  reached  Elm 
Bluff,  until  you  left  X next  morning." 

f l  I  came  here  to  deliver  in  person  a  letter  written  by 
my  mother  to  her  father,  General  Darrington,  because 
other  letters  sent  through  the  mail,  had  been  returned 
unread.  It  contained  a  request  for  one  hundred 
dollars  to  pay  the  expense  of  a  surgical  operation, 
which  we  hoped  would  restore  her  health.  When  I 
reached  Elm  Bluff,  I  waited  on  the  steps,  until  Gen 
eral  Darrington's  attorney  finished  his  business  and 
came  out ;  then  I  was  led  by  an  old  colored  man  to  the 
bed-room  where  General  Darrington  sat.  I  gave  no 
name,  fearing  he  might  refuse  to  admit  me,  and  he 
was  very  courteous  in  his  manner  until  I  laid  the 
letter  before  him.  He  immediately  recognized  the 
handwriting,  and  threw  it  on  the  floor,  declaring  that 
no  human  being  had  the  right  to  address  him  as 
father,  except  his  son  Prince.  I  picked  up  the  letter, 
and  insisted  he  should  at  least  read  the  petition  of  a 
suffering,  and  perhaps  dying  woman.  He  was  very 
violent  in  his  denunciation  of  my  parents,  and  his 
voice  was  loud  and  angry.  So  painful  was  the  whole 
interview,  that  it  was  a  bitter  trial  to  me  to  remain  in 
his  presence,  but  knowing  how  absolutely  necessary  it 
was  that  mother  should  obtain  the  money,  I  forced 
myself  to  beg  him  to  read  the  letter.  Finally  he 
consented,  read  it,  and  seemed  somewhat  softened ; 
but  he  tore  it  into  strips  and  threw  it  from  him.  He 
drank  several  glasses  of  wine  from  a  decanter  on  the 
table,  and  offered  me  some,  expressing  the  opinion  that 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  103 

I  must  be  tired  from  my  journey.  I  declined  it.  General 
Darrington  then  questioned  me  about  my  family,  my 
mode  of  living1 ;  and  after  a  few  moments  became  very 
much  excited,  renewing1  his  harsh  invectives  against 
my  parents.  It  was  at  this  stage  of  the  interview 
that  he  uttered  the  identical  words  quoted  by  the 
witness :  '  My  Will  is  so  strong,  no  contest  can 
touch  it,  and  it  will  stand  forever  between  your 
mother  and  my  property.' 

"  Immediately  after,  he  went  to  the  door  leading 
into  the  library  and  called  '  Bedney  !'  No  one  answer 
ed,  and  he  shut  the  door,  kicking  it  as  it  closed. 
When  he  came  back  to  his  chair,  he  said  very  bitterly  : 
*  At  least  we  will  have  no  eavesdroppers  at  this 
resurrection  of  my  dead.'  He  told  me  all  the  story 
of  my  mother's  girlhood  ;  of  her  marriage,  which  had 
infuriated  him  ;  that  he  had  sent  her  a  certain  propor 
tion  of  property,  and  then  disowned  and  disinherited 
her.  Afterward  he  described  his  lonely  life,  his 
second  marriage  which  was  very  happy,  and  his 
adoption  of  his  wife's  son,  who,  he  repeatedly  told  me, 
had  usurped  my  mother's  place  in  his  affections. 
Finally  he  said : 

"  ( Your  mother  has  asked  for  one  hundred  dollars. 
You  shall  have  it;  not  because  I  recognize  her  as 
child  of  mine,  but  because  a  sick  woman  appeals  to  a 
Southern  gentleman.' 

"  He  took  a  bunch  of  keys  from  his  pocket,  and  with 
one  of  them  opened  a  safe  or  iron  closet  on  the  wall 
near  the  chimney,  and  from  that  vault  he  brought  a 
square  black  tin  box  to  the  table,  where  he  opened  it. 
He  took  out  a  leather  bag,  and  counted  into  my  hand 
five  gold  pieces  of  twenty  dollars  each.  The  money 
was  given  so  ungraciously  that  I  told  him  I  would 
not  accept  it,  save  as  a  loan  for  mother's  benefit ;  and 


104  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

that  as  soon  as  I  could  earn  it  I  would  return  the 
amount  to  him.  I  was  so  anxious  to  get  away,  I 
started  toward  the  library  door,  but  he  called  me 
back,  and  gave  me  the  morocco  case  which  contains 
the  sapphires.  He  said  my  mother's  mother  had 
bought  them  as  a  gift  for  her  daughter,  to  be  worn 
when  she  was  graduated  at  school ;  but  as  she 
married  and  left  school  without  his  knowledge,  the 
jewels  had  never  been  seen  by  her.  He  told  me  he 
had  intended  to  give  them  to  his  son  Prince,  for  his 
bride,  but  that  now  he  would  send  them  to  mother, 
who  could  sell  them  for  a  handsome  sum,  because 
they  were  valuable.  He  showed  so  much  sorrow  at 
this  time,  that  I  begged  him  to  give  me  some  message 
of  pardon  and  affection,  which  she  would  prize  infinite 
ly  more  than  money  or  jewels ;  but  he  again  became 
angry  and  bitter,  and  so  I  left  him.  I  came  away  by 
the  door  leading  out  on  the  iron  veranda,  because  he 
directed  me  to  do  so,  saying  that  he  did  not  wish  me 
to  meet  the  servants,  who  would  pry  and  tattle. 
When  I  closed  the  glass  door  I  saw  him  standing  in 
the  middle  of  the  room,  leaning  on  his  cane,  and  he 
had  the  black  tin  box  in  his  hand.  The  sun  was  set 
ting  then,  and  now — " 

She  ceased  speaking  for  some  seconds,  then  raised 
her  hands  toward  heaven,  and  with  uplifted  eyes  that 
seemed  in  their  strained  gaze  to  pierce  beyond  the 
veil,  she  added  with  solemn  emphasis  : 

"  I  call  God  to  witness,  that  was  the  last  and  only 
time  I  ever  saw  General  Darrington.  That  was  the 
last  and  only  visit  I  ever  made  to  Elm  Bluff." 

There  was  a  general  movement  among  the  specta 
tors,  and  audible  excitement,  which  was  promptly 
quelled  by  the  magistrate. 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  105 

"Silence  there  in  front,  or  I  shall  order  the  room 
cleared." 

Turning  toward  Beryl,  he  said: 

"  If  you  left  Elm  Bluff  at  sunset,  why  did  you  not 
take  the  7.15  train?" 

"  I  tried  to  do  so,  but  missed  it  because  I  desired  to 
obey  my  mother's  injunctions  as  strictly  as  possible. 
She  gave  me  a  small  bunch  of  flowers,  and  asked  me 
to  be  sure  to  lay  them  for  her  on  her  mother's  grave. 
When  I  reached  the  cemetery,  which  you  know  is  in 
sight  of  the  road  from  Elm  Bluff,  the  gate  was  locked, 
and  it  required  some  time  to  enable  me  to  climb  over 
the  wall  and  find  the  monument.  It  was  growing  dark, 
and  when  I  arrived  at  the  station,  I  learned  the  train 
had  just  gone." 

"  Why  did  you  not  go  to  a  hotel,  as  you  were  ad  vis 
edtodo?" 

"  Because  after  sending  the  telegram  to  my  mothei, 
I  had  no  money  to  pay  for  lodging ;  and  I  asked  per 
mission  to  stay  in  the  ladies'  waiting-room." 

"  State  where  and  how  you  spent  the  night." 

"  It  was  very  hot  and  sultry  in  that  room,  and  as 
there  was  a  bright  moon  shining,  I  walked  out  to  get 
some  fresh  air.  The  pine  woods  had  appeared  so  pretty 
and  pleasant  that  afternoon,  that  I  went  on  and  on  to 
ward  them,  and  did  not  realize  how  far  they  were.  I 
met  people  passing  along  the  road,  and  it  did  not  seem 
lonely.  The  smell  of  the  pines  was  new  to  me,  and  to 
enjoy  it,  I  sat  down  on  the  straw.  I  was  tired,  and 
must  have  fallen  asleep  at  once,  for  I  remember  noth 
ing  till  some  noise  startled  me,  and  there  I  saw  the  same 
man  on  horseback  in  the  road,  whom  I  had  met  at  Elm 
Bluff.  He  asked  me  if  I  had  missed  my  way,  and  I 
answered  •  No,  sir.'  The  height  of  the  moon  showed 
me  it  was  late,  and  as  I  was  frightened  at  finding  my- 


106  AT  THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

self  alone  in  the  woods,  I  almost  ran  back  to  the  railway 
station,  where  I  saw  no  one,  except  a  telegraph  oper 
ator,  who  seemed  to  be  asleep  in  his  chair.  I  cannot  say 
what  time  it  was,  because  I  could  not  see  the  clock. 
Soon  after,  it  began  to  thunder,  and  all  through  that 
terrible  storm  I  was  alone  in  the  waiting-room.  So 
great  was  my  relief  when  the  wind  and  lightning  ceased, 
that  I  went  to  sleep,  and  dreamed  of  a  happy  time 
when  I  lived  in  Italy,  and  of  talking  with  one  very  dear 
to  me.  Just  then  I  awoke  with  a  start,  and  heard  a 
voice  talking  outside,  which  seemed  very  familiar. 
There  were  two  persons;  one,  a  negro,  said: 

"  'There  ain't  no  train  'till  daylight,  excepting  the 
through  freight.'  " 

11  The  other  person  asked:  '  When  is  it  due  ?'  The 
negro  answered  : 

" '  Pretty  soon,  but  it  don't  stop  here;  it  goes  to  the 
water  tank  where  it  blows  for  the  railroad  bridge; 
and  that  is  only  a  short  distance  up  the  track.' 

"  I  think  I  must  have  been  only  half  awake,  and  with 
my  mind  fixed  on  my  dream,  I  ran  out  in  front  of 
the  station  house.  An  old  negro  man  limping  down 
the  street  was  the  only  person  visible,  and  while  I 
watched  him  he  suddenly  vanished.  I  went  along  the 
track  for  some  distance  but  saw  no  one ;  and  when  I 
came  back,  the  ticket  agent  was  standing  in  the  door 
of  his  office.  I  cannot  explain  to  you  the  singular  im 
pulse  which  carried  me  out,  when  I  heard  the  dialogue, 
because  it  is  inexplicable  to  myself,  save  by  the  sup 
position  that  I  was  still  dreaming ;  and  yet  I  saw  the 
negro  man  distinctly.  There  was  a  lamp-post  near 
him,  and  he  had  a  bundle  on  his  shoulder.  When  the 

3.05  train  came,  I  went  aboard  and  left  X ." 

A  smile  parted  Mr.  Dunbar's  lips,  and  his  handsome 
teeth  glittered  as  he  whispered  to  Judge  Dent : 


AT  THE  MEROY  OF  TIBEKIUS.  107 

"  Even  your  chivalrous  compassion  can  scarcely 
digest  this  knotty  solution  of  her  movements  that 
night.  As  a  fabrication,  it  does  little  credit  to  her 
ingenuity." 

"Her  statement  impresses  me  differently.  She  is 
either  entirely  innocent,  or  she  had  an  accomplice, 
whose  voice  she  recognized ;  and  this  clue  should  be 
investigated." 

The  District  Solicitor  rose  and  bowed  to  the 
Magistrate. 

"With  your  Honor's  permission,  I  should  like  to 
ask  the  prisoner  whom  she  expected  to  see,  when  she 
recognized  the  voice  ?" 

"  A  person  who  is  very  dear  to  me,  but  who  is  not 
in  the  United  States." 

"  What  is  the  name  of  that  person  ?" 

Her  lips  moved  to  pronounce  his  name,  but  some 
swift  intuitive  warning  restrained  the  utterance.  Sud 
denly  a  new  horror,  a  ghastly  possibility,  thrust  itself 
for  the  first  time  before  her,  and  she  felt  as  though 
some  hand  of  ice  clutched  her  heart. 

Those  who  watched  her  so  closely,  saw  the  blood 
ebb  from  cheeks  and  lips ;  noted  the  ashy  pallor  that 
succeeded,  and  the  strange  groping  motion  of  her 
hands.  She  staggered  toward  the  platform,  and 
when  the  Magistrate  caught  her  arm,  she  fell  against 
him  like  some  tottering  marble  image,  entirely  uncon 
scious. 


So  prolonged  and  death-like  was  the  swoon,  and  so 
futile  the  usual  methods  of  restoration,  that  the 
prisoner  was  carried  into  the  small  ante-room,  and 
laid  upon  a  wooden  bench ;  where  a  physician,  who 
chanced  to  be  in  the  audience,  was  summoned  to 


108  AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

attend  her.  Finding  restoratives  ineffectual,  he  took 
out  his  lancet : 

"  This  is  no  ordinary  fainting  fit." 

He  attempted  to  roll  up  one  of  her  sleeves,  but  see 
ing  this  was  impracticable,  would  have  unfastened  her 
dress,  had  not  Judge  Dent  arrested  his  hand. 

"No,  doctor;  cut  out  the  sleeve  if  necessary,  but 
don't  touch  her  otherwise." 

"  Let  me  assist  you ;  I  can  easily  bare  the  arm." 

As  he  spoke,  Mr.  Dunbar  knelt  beside  the  bench,  and 
with  a  small,  sharp  pen-knife  ripped  the  seam  from 
elbow  to  shoulder,  from  elbow  to  wrist,  swiftly  and 
deftly  folding  back  the  sleeve,  and  exposing  the  perfect 
moulding  of  the  snowy  arm. 

"  Just  hold  the  hand,  Dunbar,  so  as  to  keep  it 
steady." 

Clasping  closely  the  hand,  which  the  physician  laid 
in  his  palm,  the  attorney  noted  the  exquisite  sym 
metry  of  the  slender  fingers  and  oval  nails.  He  bent 
forward  and  watched  the  frozen  face.  When  the  heav 
ily  lashed  lids  quivered  and  lifted,  and  she  looked  va 
cantly  at  the  grave  compassionate  countenances  lean 
ing  over  her,  a  certain  tightening  of  the  hold  upon  her 
fingers,  drew  her  attention.  Her  gaze  fastened  on  the 
lawyer's  blue  eyes  as  if  by  a  subtle  malign  fascination. 
The  veil  that  shrouded  consciousness  was  rent,  not 
fully  raised ;  and  as  in  some  dream  the  solemn  eyes 
appeared  to  search  his.  A  strange  shivering  thrill  shot 
along  his  nerves,  and  his  quiet,  well  regulated  heart  so 
long  the  docile  obedient  motor,  fettered  vassal  of  his 
will,  bounded,  strained  hard  on  the  steel  cable  that 
held  it  in  thrall. 

"  You  feel  better  now  ?"  asked  the  physician,  who 
was  stanching  the  flow  of  blood. 

Still   her  gaze  seemed  to   penetrate  the  inmost  re- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  109 

cesses  of  the  lawyer's  nature,  calling  into  sudden  revolt 
dormant  elements  that  amazed  and  defied  him. 

A  shadowy  smile  curved  her  pale  lips. 

"  At  the  mercy  of  Tiberius.  At  the  mercy  of 
Tiberius." 

Those  present  looked  inquiringly  at  each  other. 

"  Her  mind  wanders  a  little.  Sheriff,  give  her  some 
of  that  brandy.  She  is  as  weak  as  a  baby." 

Judge  Dent  raised  her  head,  and  the  officer  held  the 
tumbler  to  her  mouth ;  while  the  former  said  gently : 

' '  My  poor  girl,  drink  a  little,  it  will  strengthen  you." 

With  a  gesture  of  loathing,  she  rejected  it ;  and  as 
she  attempted  to  raise  herself,  all  the  dire  extremity  of 
her  peril  rushed  back  upon  her  mind,  like  a  black  over 
whelming  tide  from  the  sea  of  the  past. 

"  Lie  still,  until  I  have  bandaged  your  arm.  Here, 
Dunbar,  you  acquitted  yourself  so  dexterously  with 
your  knife,  just  lend  a  hand.  Hold  the  arm  until  I 
secure  the  bandage." 

To  find  herself  surrounded  by  men,  helpless  in  the 
grasp  of  strangers,  with  no  womanly  touch  or  glance 
to  sustain  her,  served  to  intensify  her  misery;  and 
wrenching  herself  free,  she  struggled  into  a  sitting 
posture,  then  staggered  to  her  feet.  The  heavy  coil  of 
hair  loosened  when  they  bore  her  from  the  court-room, 
now  released  itself  from  restraining  pins,  and  fell  in 
burnished  waves  to  her  knees,  clothing  her  with  a  glory, 
such  as  the  world's  great  masters  in  art  reserve  for 
the  beatified.  Had  all  the  blood  that  fed  her  heart  been 
drained,  she  would  not  have  appeared  more  deadly 
pale,  and  in  her  wide  eyes  was  the  desperate  look  of  a 
doomed  animal,  that  feels  the  hot  fangs  of  the  hounds, 
and  the  cold  steel  of  the  hunters. 

"  Be  persuaded  for  your  own  sake,  to  swallow  some 
stimulant,  of  which  you  are  sadly  in  need.  You  will 


110  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

require  all  your  strength,  and,  as  a  physician,  I  insist 
upon  your  taking  my  prescription." 

"  If  I  might  have  some  water.    Just  a  little  water." 

Some  one  brought  a  brown  stone  pitcher,  and  she 
drank  long  and  thirstily ;  then  looked  for  a  moment  at 
the  faces  of  those  who  crowded  about  her. 

"  What  will  be  done  now?" 

Every  eye  fell  to  the  floor,  and  after  a  painful  silence 
Judge  Dent  said  very  gently : 

"  For  the  present,  the  Magistrate  will  retain  you  in 
custody,  until  the  action  of  the  Grand  Jury.  Should 
they  fail  to  indict  you,  then  you  will  at  once  be  re 
leased." 

"  I  am  to  go  to  prison  ?  I  am  to  be  thrust  among 
convicts,  vile  criminals  !  I—  ?  My  father's  Beryl  ? 
O,  righteous  God !  Where  is  Thy  justice  ?  O,  Christ ! 
Is  Thy  mercy  a  mockery  ?" 

She  stood,  with  her  chin  resting  on  her  clinched  hands, 
and  twice  a  long  violent  shudder  shook  her  from  head 
to  foot. 

"  I  hope  your  imprisonment  will  be  only  temporary. 
The  Grand  Jury  will  be  in  session  next  week.  Mean 
time  diligent  search  may  discover  the  persons  whose 
conversation  you  overheard  at  the  station;  and 
if  you  be  innocent,  we  are  all  your  friends,  and  the 
law,  which  now  seems  so  stern,  will  prove  your  strong 
est  protector  and  vindicator." 

Judge  Dent  stood  close  beside  her,  as  he  essayed 
these  words  of  comfort,  and  saw  that  she  caught  her 
breath  as  though  in  mortal  agony.  Her  face  writhed, 
and  she  shut  her  eyes,  unable  to  contemplate  some 
hideous  apparition.  He  suspected  that  she  was  fight 
ing1  desperately  an  impulse  that  suggested  succor; 
and  he  was  sure  she  had  strangled  it,  when  her 
hands  fell  nerveless  at  her  side,  and  she  raised  her 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  Ill 

bowed  head.  If  the  finger  of  paralysis  had  passed 
over  her  features,  they  would  not  have  appeared  more 
hopelessly  fixed.  Mechanically  she  twisted  and  coiled 
her  hair,  and  took  the  hat  and  shawl  which  the  officer 
held  out  to  her. 

"  If  I  can  assist  you  in  any  way,  you  have  only  to 
send  for  me." 

She  looked  at  Judge  Dent  intently,  for  an  instant, 
then  shook  her  head. 

"  No  one  can  help  me  now." 

She  tied  her  veil  over  her  face,  and  silently  followed 
the  deputy  sheriff  to  a  carriage,  that  stood  near  the 
pavement. 

When  he  would  have  assisted  her,  she  haughtily 
repelled  him. 

"  I  will  follow  you,  because  I  must;  but  do  not  put 
your  hands  on  me." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

T  N  ante  bellum  days,  when  States'  Rights  was  a  sa 
cred  faith,  a  revered  and  precious  palladium,  State 
pride  blossomed  under  Southern  skies,  and  State  coffers 
overflowed  with  the  abundance  wherewith  God  blessed 
the  land,  During  that  period,  when  it  became  neces 
sary  to  select  a  site  for  a  new  Penitentiary,  the  salu 
brity  and  central  location  of  X had  so  strongly 

commended  it,  that  the  spacious  structure  was  erected 
within  its  limits,  and  regarded  as  an  architectural 
triumph  of  which  the  State  might  justly  boast.  Soon 
after  this  had  been  completed,  the  old  county  jail,  sit 
uated  on  the  border  of  the  town,  was  burned  one  windy 
March  night ;  then  the  red  rain  of  war  deluged  the  land, 
and  when  tbe  ghastly  sun  of  "  Reconstruction"  smiled 


112  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

upon  the  grave  of  States'  Rights,  Municipal  money  dis« 
appeared  in  subterranean  channels.  Thus  it  came  to 
pass,  that  with  the  exception  of  a  small  "  lockup"  at 
tached  to  Police  Headquarters,  X had  failed  to 

rebuild  its  jail,  and  domiciled  its  dangerous  transgres 
sors  in  the  great  stone  prison ;  paying  therefor  to  thtj 
State  an  annual  amount  per  capita. 

Built  of  gray  granite  which  darkened  with  time  and 
weather  stains,  its  massive  walls,  machicolated  roof, 
and  tall  arched  clock-tower  lifted  their  leaden  outlines 
against  the  sky,  and  cast  a  brooding  shadow  over  the 
town,  lying  below ;  a  grim  perpetual  menace  to  all  who 
subsequently  found  themselves  locked  in  its  reforma 
tory  arms.  Separated  from  the  bustling  mart  and  busy 
traffic,  by  the  winding  river  that  divided  the  little  city 

into  North  and  South  X ,  it  crested  an  eminence  on 

the  north;  and  the  single  lower  story  flanking  the 
main  edifice  east  and  west,  resembled  the  trailing  wings 
of  some  vast  bird  of  prey,  an  exaggerated  simulacrum 
of  a  monstrous  gray  condor  perched  on  a  "  coigne  of 
vantage,"  waiting  to  swoop  upon  its  victims.  Encir 
cled  by  a  tall  brick  wall,  which  was  surmounted  by  iron 
spikes  sharp  as  bayonets,  that  defied  escalade,  the 
grounds  extended  to  the  verge  of  the  swift  stream  in 
front,  and  stretched  back  to  the  border  of  a  heavily 
timbered  tract  of  pine  land,  a  bit  of  primeval  forest 
left  to  stare  at  the  encroaching  armies  of  Philistinism. 

Within  the  precincts  of  the  yard,  the  tender  conserv 
atism  of  our  great-hearted  mother  Nature,  gently 
toned  the  savage  stony  features ;  and  even  under  the 
chill  frown  of  iron  barred  windows,  golden  sunshine 
bravely  smiled,  soft  grasses  wove  their  emerald  velvet 
tapestries  starred  and  flushed  with  dainty  satin  petals, 
which  late  Autumn  roses  showered  in  munificent  con 
tribution,  to  the  work  of  pitying  love. 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  113 

In  a  comfortably  furnished  room  situated  in  the 
second  story  of  the  main  building-,  sat  a  woman  appar 
ently  thirty -five  years  old,  who  was  singing  to  a  baby 
lying-  face  downward  on  her  lap,  while  with  one  hand 
she  rocked  the  wicker  cradle  beside  her,  where  a  boy 
of  four  years  was  tossing.  Her  hazel  eyes  were  full 
of  kindly  light,  the  whole  face  eloquent  with  that  pa 
tient,  limitless  tenderness,  which  is  the  magic  chrism 
of  maternity,  wherewith  Lucina  and  Cuba  abundantly 
anoint  Motherhood.  The  blessed  and  infallible  ne 
penthe  for  all  childhood's  ills  and  aches,  mother  touch, 
mother  songs,  soon  held  soothing  sway ;  and  when  the 
woman  laid  the  sleeping  babe  on  her  own  bed,  and 
covered  her  with  a  shawl,  she  saw  her  husband  leaning 
against  the  partly  open  door. 

"  Come  here,  Susie.  The  kids  are  snug  and  safe  for 
the  present,  and  I  want  you." 

"  For  shame,  Ned  !  To  call  our  darlings  such  a 
beastly  name  !  Kids,  indeed  !  My  sweetest,  loveliest 
lambs!" 

"  There  !  Hear  yourself  !  If  I  can  see  any  choice 
of  respectability  between  kids  and  lambs,  may  I  turn 
to  a  thorough-bred  Southdown,  and  take  the  blue  rib 
bon  at  the  next  Fair.  Beasts  of  the  field,  all  of  them. 
The  always- wide-awake-contrariness  of  womankind  is 
a  curious  and  fearful  thing.  If  I  had  called  our  be 
loved  towheads,  lambs,  you  would  have  sworn  through 
blue  ruin  that  they  were  the  cutest,  spryest  pair  of 
spotted  kids,  that  ever  skipped  over  a  five-railed  fence !" 

"  So  much  the  worse  for  you,  Ned  Singleton,  that 
you  are  such  a  hopeless  heathen ;  you  do  not  even 
know  where  the  Elect  are  appointed  to  stand,  at  that 
great  day,  when  the  sheep  come  up  on  the  right  hand 
of  the  Lord,  and  the  goats  go  down  to  the  left.  If  you 
read  your  Bible  more,  I  should  have  less  to  teach  you." 


114:  AT   THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"  Oh  !  but  let  me  tell  you,  I  thought  of  all  that  be 
fore  I  made  up  my  mind  to  marry  the  daughter  of  a 
Presbyterian  preacher.  I  knew  your  dear  little  blue- 
nose  would  keep  the  orthodox  trail ;  and  being  one  of 
the  Elect  you  could  not  get  the  points  of  the  celestial 
compass  mixed.  Don't  you  forget,  that  it  is  part  of 
the  unspoken  marriage  contract,  that  the  wife  must 
not  only  keep  her  own  soul  white,  but  bleach  her  hus 
band's  also ;  and  no  matter  what  a  reprobate  a  man 
may  be,  he  always  expects  his  better-half,  by  hook  or 
by  crook,  to  steer  him  into  heaven." 

He  put  his  hands  on  his  wife's  shoulders,  shook  her, 
hi  token  of  mastery,  and  kissed  her. 

"  What  do  you  want  of  my  '  always-wide-awake- 
contrariness'  ?  I  have  half  a  mind  not  to  help  you  out 
of  your  scrape ;  for  of  course  you  have  mired  some 
where.  What  is  the  matter  now,  Ned  ?" 

"  Yes — stuck  hard  and  fast ;  so  my  dear  little 
woman,  don't  you  go  back  on  your  wedding-day 
promises,  but  just  lend  a  helping  hand.  I  don't  know 
what  is  to  be  done  with  that  poor  young  woman  in  No. 
19.  One  of  the  under- wardens,  Jarvis,  sleeps  this 
week  right  under  her  cell,  and  he  tells  me  that  all 
night  long  she  tramps  up  and  down,  without  cessation, 
like  some  caged  animal.  This  is  her  third  day  in,  and 
she  has  not  touched  a  morsel ;  though  at  Judge  Dent's 
request  I  ordered  some  extras  given  her.  Jarvis  said 
she  was  not  sullen,  but  he  thought  it  proper  to  report 
to  me  that  she  seemed  to  act  very  strangely ;  so  I  went 
up  to  see  after  her.  When  I  opened  the  door  she  was 
walking  up  and  down  the  floor,  with  her  hands  locked 
at  the  back  of  her  head,  and  I  declare,  Susie,  she  looks 
five  years  older  than  when  she  came  here.  There  are 
great  dark  hollows  under  her  eyes,  and  two  red  spots 
like  coals  of  fire  on  her  cheeks.  I  said :  '  Are  you 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  115 

sick,  that  you  reject  your  meals  ?'  To  which  she  re 
plied  :  '  Don't  trouble  yourself  to  send  me  food ;  I  can 
not  eat  !'  Then  I  told  her  I  understood  that  she  was 
restless  at  night,  and  I  advised  her  to  take  a  mixture 
which  would  quiet  her  nerves.  She  shook  her  head,  and  I 
could  not  bear  to  look  at  her ;  the  eyes  seemed  so  like 
a  wounded  fawn's,  brimful  of  misery.  I  asked  her  if 
there  was  anything- 1  could  do,to  make  her  more  comfort 
able;  or  if  she  needed  medicine.  All  this  time  she  kept  up 
her  quick  walk  to  and  fro,  and  she  answered  :  '  Thank 
you.  I  need  nothing — but  death ;  and  that  will  come 
soon.'  Now  what  could  I  say  ?  I  felt  such  a  lump  hi 
my  throat,  that  if  Solomon  had  whispered  to  me  some 
kind  speech,  I  could  not  have  uttered  it ;  so  I  got  out 
of  the  room  just  as  fast  as  possible,  to  dry  the  tears 
that  somehow  would  blur  my  eyes.  When  they  are 
surly,  or  snappish,  or  violent,  or  insolent,  I  know  ex 
actly  what  to  do,  and  have  no  trouble  ;  but  hang  me, 
if  I  can  cope  with  this  lady — there  it  is  out !  She  is  a 
lady  every  inch,  and  as  much  out  of  place  here  as  I 
should  be  in  Queen  Victoria's  drawing-room.  Men  are 
clumsy  brutes,  even  hi  kid  gloves,  and  bruise  much 
oftener  than  they  heal.  Whenever  I  am  in  that  girl's 
presence,  I  have  a  queer  feeling  that  I  am  walking  on 
eggs,  and  tip-toe  as  I  may,  shall  smash  things.  If 
something  is  not  done,  she  will  be  ill  on  our  hands,  and 
a  funeral  will  balk  the  bloodhounds." 

"  0,  hush,  Ned !  You  give  me  the  shivers.  My 
heart  yearns  toward  that  beautiful  young  creature> 
and  I  believe  she  is  as  innocent  as  my  baby.  It  is  a 
burning  shame  to  send  her  here,  unless  there  is  no 
doubt  of  her  guilt.  Judge  Dent  is  too  shrewd  an  old 
fox  to  be  baited  with  chaff,  and  I  am  satisfied  from 
what  he  told  you,  that  he  believes  her  statement. 
There  is  nothing  I  would  not  do  to  comfort  her,  but  I 


116  AT  THE  MEKCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

would  rather  have  my  ears  boxed  than  witness  her  suf 
fering.  The  day  I  carried  to  her  a  change  of  clothes, 
until  her  own  could  be  washed,  and  sewed  up  her  dress 
sleeve,  I  did  nothing  but  cry.  I  could  not  help  it, 
when  she  moaned  and  wrung  her  hands,  and  said  her 
mother's  heart  would  break.  I  have  heard  all  my  life 
that  justice  is  blind ;  I  have  learned  to  believe  it,  for  it 
stumbles,  and  gropes,  and  lays  iron  claws  on  the  wrong 
person.  As  for  the  lawyers  ?  They  are  fit  pilots ;  and 
the  courts  are  little  better  than  blind  man's  buff.  Don't 
stand  chewing  your  mustache,  Ned.  Tell  me  what  you 
want  me  to  do,  while  baby  is  asleep.  She  has  a  vexa 
tious  habit  of  taking  cat  naps." 

"  Little  woman,  I  turn  over  the  case  to  you.  Just 
let  your  heart  loose,  and  follow  it." 

"  If  I  do,  will  you  endorse  me  ?" 

"  Till  the  stars  fall." 

"  Can  you  stay  here  awhile  ?" 

"  Yes,  if  you  will  tell  Jarvis  where  he  can  find  me." 

"  Mind  you,  Ned,  you  are  not  to  interfere  with  me  ?" 

"  No— I  swear  I  won't.  Hurry  up,  or  there  will  be 
much  music  in  this  bleating  fold ;  and  you  know  I  am 
as  utterly  useless  with  a  crying  child,  as  a  one-armed 
man  in  a  concert  of  fiddlers." 

The  cell  assigned  to  the  new  prisoner  was  in  the  cen 
tre  of  a  line,  which  rose  tier  above  tier,  like  the  com 
partments  in  a  pigeon  house,  or  the  sombre  caves 
hewn  out  of  rock-ribbed  cliffs,  in  some  lonely  Laura. 
Iron  stairways  conducted  the  unfortunates  to  these 
stone  cages,  where  the  dim  cold  light,  filtered  through 
the  iron  lattice- work  of  the  upper  part  of  the  door, 
made  a  perpetual  crepuscular  atmosphere  within. 
The  bare  floor,  walls,  and  low  ceiling  were  spotlessly 
clean  &nd  white ;  and  an  iron  cot  with  heavy  brown 
blankets  spread  smoothly  and  ?  wooden  bench  in  one 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  117 

corner,  constituted  the  furniture.  Scrupulous  neat 
ness  reigned  everywhere,  but  the  air  was  burdened 
with  the  odor  of  carbolic  acid,  and  even  at  mid-day 
was  chill  as  the  breath  of  a  tomb.  Where  the  doors 
were  thrown  open,  they  resembled  the  yawning-  jaws 
of  rifled  graves ;  and  when  closed,  the  woful  inmates 
peering  through  the  black  lattice  seemed  an  incarna 
tion  of  Dante's  hideous  Caina  tenants. 

When  Mrs.  Singleton  stopped  in  front  of  No.  19,  and 
looked  through  the  grating,  Beryl  was  standing  at  the 
extremity  of  the  cell,  with  her  face  turned  to  the  wall, 
and  her  hands  clamping  the  back  of  her  neck.  The 
ceiling  was  so  low  she  could  have  touched  it,  had  she 
lifted  her  arms,  and  she  appeared  to  have  retreated 
as  far  in  the  gloomy  den  as  the  barriers  allowed. 
Thinking  that  perhaps  the  girl  was  praying,  the 
warden's  wife  waited  some  minutes,  but  no  sound 
greeted  her ;  and  so  motionless  was  the  figure,  that 
it  might  have  been  only  an  alto  rilievo  carved  on  the 
wall.  Pushing  the  door  open,  Mrs.  Singleton  entered, 
and  deposited  on  the  iron  bed  a  waiter  covered  with 
a  snowy  napkin.  At  the  sound,  Beryl  turned,  and 
her  arms  fell  to  her  side,  but  she  shrank  back  against 
the  wall,  as  if  solitude  were  her  only  solace,  and 
human  intrusion  an  added  torture. 

Mrs.  Singleton  took  both  hands,  and  held  them 
firmly : 

"  Do  you  believe  it  right  to  commit  suicide  ?" 

"  I  believe  in  everything  but  human  justice,  and 
Divine  mercy." 

"Your  conscience  tells  you  that — 

"  Am  I  allowed  a  conscience  ?  What  ghastly  mock 
ery  !  Thieves  and  murderers  are  not  fit  tenements  for 
conscience,  and  I —  I — am  accused  of  stealing,  and  of 
bloodshed.  Justice  !  What  a  horrible  sham  !  We — 


118  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

her  victims — who  adored  the  beneficent  and  incorrupti 
ble  attribute  of  God  Himself — we  are  undeceived, 
when  Justice — the  harpy — tears  our  hearts  out  with 
her  hideous,  foul,  defiling  claws." 

She  spoke  through  set  teeth,  and  a  spasm  of 
shuddering  shook  her  from  head  to  feet. 

"  Listen  to  me.  Suspicion  is  one  thing,  proof  some 
thing  very  different.  You  are  accused,  but  not  con 
victed,  and — " 

"  I  shall  be.  Justice  must  be  appeased,  and  I  am 
the  most  convenient  and  available  victim.  An  awful 
crime  has  been  committed,  and  outraged  law, 
screaming  for  vengeance,  pounces  like  a  hungry  hawk 
on  an  innocent  and  unsuspecting  prey.  Does  she  spare 
the  victim  because  it  quivers,  and  dies  hard  ?" 

"  Hush  !  You  must  not  despair.  I  believe  in  your 
innocence ;  I  believe  every  word  you  uttered  that  day 
was  true,  and  I  believe  that  our  merciful  God  will  pro 
tect  you.  Put  yourself  in  His  hands,  and  His  mercy 
will  save,  for  '  it  endureth  forever.' ' 

"  I  don't  ask  mercy  !  I  claim  justice— from  God 
and  man.  The  wicked  grovel,  and  beg  for  mercy ;  but 
innocence  lays  hold  upon  the  very  throne  of  God,  and 
clutches  His  sword,  and  demands  justice  !" 

"  I  understand  how  you  feel,  and  I  do  not  wonder  ; 
but  for  your  own  sake,  in  order  to  keep  your  mind 
clear  and  strong  for  your  vindication,  you  certainly 
ought  to  take  care  of  your  health.  Starvation  is  the 
surest  leech  for  depleting  soul  and  body.  Do  you  want 
to  die  here  in  prison,  leaving  your  name  tarnished, 
and  smirched  with  suspicion  of  crime,  when  you  can 
live  to  proclaim  your  innocence  to  the  world  ?  Re 
member  that  even  if  you  care  nothing  for  your  life,  you 
owe  something  to  your  mother.  You  have  two  chances 
yet ;  the  Grand  Jury  may  not  find  a  true  bill — " 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  119 

"  Yes,  that  tiger-eyed  lawyer  will  see  that  they  do. 
He  knows  that  the  law  is  a  cunning  net  for  the  feet  of 
the  innocent  and  the  unwary.  He  set  his  snare  dex 
terously,  and  he  will  not  fail  to  watch  it." 

"  You  mean  Mr.  Dunbar  ?  Yes,  you  certainly  have 
cause  to  dread  him  ;  but  even  if  you  should  be  indicted, 
you  have  twelve  human  hearts  full  of  compassion  to  ap 
peal  to — and  I  can't  think  it  possible  a  jury  of  sane  men 
could  look  at  you  and  condemn  you.  You  must  fight 
for  your  life  ;  and  what  is  far  more  to  you  than  life, 
you  must  fight  for  your  good  name,  for  your  character. 
Suspicion  is  not  proof  of  crime,  and  there  is  no  taint  on 
you  yet ;  for  sin  alone  stains,  and  if  you  will  only  be 
brave  and  clear  yourself  as  I  know  you  can,  what  a 
grand  triumph  it  will  be.  If  you  starve  yourself  you 
seal  your  doom.  An  empty  stomach  will  do  you  more 
harm  than  the  Grand  Jury  and  all  the  lawyers ;  for  it 
ut  terly  upsets  your  nerves,  and  makes  your  brain  whirl 
like  a  top.  For  three  days  and  nights  you  have  not 
tasted  food  ;  now  just  to  please  me,  since  I  have  taken 
so  much  trouble,  sit  down  here  by  me,  and  eat  what  I 
have  brought.  I  know  you  would  rather  not;  I  know 
you  don't  want  it ;  but,  my  dear  child,  take  it  like  any 
other  dose,  which  will  strengthen  you  for  your  battle. 
It  is  very  fine  to  rant  about  heroism,  but  starvation  is 
the  best  factory  for  turning  out  cowards  ;  and  even 
the  courage  of  old  Caesar  would  have  had  the  'dwindles/ 
if  he  had  been  stinted  in  his  rations." 

She  removed  the  napkin,  and  displayed  a  tempting 
luncheon,  served  in  pretty,  gilt-banded  white  china. 
What  a  contrast  it  presented,  to  the  steaming  tin  plat 
ter  and  dull  tin  quart  cups  caTried  daily  to  the  adjoin 
ing  cell  ? 

Beryl  laid  her  -hand  on  Mrs.  Singleton's  shoulder, 
and  her  mouth  trembled. 


120  AT   THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"I  thank  you,  sincerely,  for  your  sympathy — and 
for  your  confidence;  and  to  show  my  appreciation  of 
your  kindness,  I  wrish  I  could  eat  that  dainty  luncheon  ; 
but  I  think  it  would  strangle  me — I  have  such  a  cease 
less  aching  here,  in  my  throat.  I  feel  as  if  I  should 
stifle." 

"  See  here  !  I  brought  you  some  sweet  rich  milk  in 
my  little  boy's  cup.  He  was  my  first-born,  and  I  lost 
him.  This  was  his  christening  present  from  my 
mother.  It  is  very  precious,  very  sacred  to  me.  If 
you  will  only  drink  what  is  in  it,  I  shall  be  satisfied. 
Don't  slight  my  angel  baby's  cup.  That  would  hurt 
me." 

She  raised  the  pretty  "Bo-Peep"  silver  cup  to  the 
prisoner's  lips,  and  seeing  the  kind  hazel  eyes  swim 
ming  in  tears,  Beryl  stooped  her  head  and  drank  the 
milk. 

The  warden's  wife  lifted  the  cup,  looked  wistfully 
at  it,  and  kissed  the  name  engraved  on  the  metal : 

"  You  know  now  I  must  think  you  pure  and  worthy. 
I  have  given  you  the  strongest  possible  proof ;  for  only 
the  good  could  be  allowed  to  touch  what  my  dead  boy's 
lips  have  consecrated.  Now  come  out  with  me,  and 
get  some  pure  fresh  air." 

Beryl  shrank  back. 

"  These  close  walls  seem  a  friendly  shelter  from  the 
horrible  faces  that  cluster  outside.  You  can  form  no 
idea  how  I  dread  contact  with  the  vile  creatures,  whose 
crimes  have  brought  them  here  for  expiation.  The 
thought  of  breathing  the  same  atmosphere  pollutes 
me.  I  think  the  loathsomeness  of  perdition  must  con 
sist  in  association  with  the  depraved  and  wicked. 
Not  the  undying  flames  would  affright  me,  but  the 
doom  of  eternal  companionship  with  outcast  criminals. 
No  !  No  !  I  would  sooner  freeze  here,  than  wander  in 


AT   THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  121 

the  sunshine  with  those  hideous  wretches  I  saw  the 
day  I  was  thrust  among  them." 

"  Trust  me,  and  1  will  expose  you  to  nothing1  un 
pleasant.  Take  your  hat  and  shawl ;  I  shall  not  bring 
you  back  here.  There  is  time  enough  for  cells  when 
you  have  been  convicted  and  sentenced ;  and  please 
God,  you  shall  never  stay  in  this  one  again.  Come." 

"  Stay,  madam.  What  is  your  purpose  ?  I  have 
been  so  hunted  down,  I  am  growing  suspicious  of  the 
appearance  of  kindness.  What  are  you  going  to  do  ?" 

Mrs.  Singleton  took  her  hand  and  pressed  it  gently. 

"  I  am  going  to  trust,  and  help,  and  love  you,  if  you 
will  let  me ;  and  for  the  present,  I  intend  to  keep  you 
in  a  room  adjoining  mine,  where  you  will  have  no  fear 
of  wicked  neighbors." 

"  That  will  be  merciful  indeed.  May  God  bless  you 
for  the  thought." 

Down  iron  stair-cases,  and  through  dim  corridors 
bordered  with  dark  cells,  gloomy  as  the  lairs  of  wild 
beasts  whom  the  besotted  inmates  resembled,  the  two 
women  walked;  and  once,  when  a  clank  of  chains  and 
a  hoarse  human  cry  broke  the  dismal  silence,  Beryl 
clutched  her  companion's  arm,  and  her  teeth  chattered 
with  horror. 

"  Yes,  it  is  awful !  That  poor  woman  is  the  saddest 
case  we  have.  She  waylaid  and  stabbed  her  husband 
to  death,  and  poisoned  his  mother.  We  think  she  is 
really  insane,  and  as  she  is  dangerous  at  times,  it  is 
necessary  to  keep  her  chained,  until  arrangements  can 
be  made  to  remove  her  to  the  insane  asylum." 

"I  don't  wonder  she  is  mad  !  People  cannot  dwell 
here  and  retain  their  reason  ;  and  madness  is  a  mercy 
that  blesses  them  with  forge tfulness." 

Beryl  shivered,  and  her  eyes  glittered  with  an  un 
natural  and  ominous  brilliance. 


122  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

The  Warden's  wife  paused  before  a  large  door  with 
solid  iron  panels,  and  rang  a  bell.  Some  one  on  the 
the  other  side  asked  : 

"  What  is  the  order  ?    Who  rang  ?" 

"  Mrs.  Singleton  ;  I  want  to  get  into  the  chapel.  I,iet 
me  out,  Jasper." 

The  door  swung  slowly  back,  and  the  guard  touched 
his  hat  respectfully. 

Through  an  open  arcade,  where  the  sunlight  stream 
ed,  Mrs.  Singleton  led  her  companion ;  then  up  a  short 
flight  of  stone  steps,  and  they  found  themselves  in  a 
long  room,  with  an  altar  railing  and  pulpit  at  one  end, 
and  rows  of  wooden  benches  crossing  the  floor  from 
wall  to  wall.  Even  here,  the  narrow  windows  were 
iron  barred,  but  sunshine  and  the  sweet,  pure  breath 
of  the  outside  world  entered  freely.  Within  the  altar 
railing,  and  at  the  right  of  the  reading  desk  where  a 
Bible  lay,  stood  a  cabinet  organ.  Leaving  the  prisoner 
to  walk  up  and  down  the  aisle,  Mrs.  Singleton  opened 
the  organ,  drew  out  the  stops,  and  after  waiting  a  few 
moments,  began  to  play. 

At  first,  only  a  solemn  prelude  rolled  its  waves  of 
harmony  through  the  peaceful  sunny  room,  but  soon 
the  strains  of  the  beautiful  Motet  "  Cast  thy  burden 
on  the  Lord,"  swelled  like  the  voice  of  some  divine  con 
soler.  Watching  the  stately  figure  of  the  prisoner 
who  wandered  to  and  fro,  the  warden's  wife  noticed 
that  like  a  magnet  the  music  drew  her  nearer  and 
nearer  each  time  she  approached  the  chancel,  and  at 
last  she  stood  with  one  hand  on  the  railing.  The  beau 
tiful  face,  sharpened  and  drawn  by  mental  agony,  was 
piteously  wan  save  where  two  scarlet  spots  burned  on 
her  cheeks,  and  the  rigid  lips  were  gray  as  some  granite 
statue's,  but  the  eyes  glowed  with  a  strange  splendor 
that  almost  transfigured  hor  countenance. 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  123 

On  and  on  glided  the  soft,  subtle  variations  of  the 
Motet,  and  gradually  the  strained  expression  of  the 
shining  eyes  relaxed,  as  if  the  soul  of  the  listener  were 
drifting  back  from  a  far-off  realm ;  the  white  lids 
quivered,  the  stern  lines  of  the  pale  lips  unbent.  At 
that  moment,  the  face  of  her  father  seemed  floating  on 
the  sunbeams  that  gilded  the  pulpit,  and  the  tones  of 
her  mother's  voice  rang  in  her  ears.  The  terrible  ten 
sion  of  many  days  and  nights  of  torture  gave  way  sud 
denly,  like  a  silver  thread  long  taut,  which  snaps  with 
one  last  vibration.  She  raised  her  hands  : 

"  My  God  !    Why  hast  Thou  forsaken  me  ?" 

The  cry  ended  in  a  wail.  Into  her  burning  eyes 
merciful  tears  rushed,  and  sinking  on  her  knees  she 
rested  against  the  railing,  shaken  by  a  storm  of  pas 
sionate  weeping. 

Mrs.  Singleton  felt  her  own  tears  falling  fast,  but 
she  played  for  a  while  longer ;  then  stole  out  of  the 
chapel,  and  sat  down  on  the  steps. 

Across  the  grass  plot  before  the  door,  burnished 
pigeons  cooed,  and  trod  their  stately  minuet,  their 
iridescent  plumage  showing  every  opaline  splendor 
as  the  sunlight  smote  them ;  and  on  a  buttress  of 
the  clock  tower,  a  lonely  hedge-sparrow  poured  his 
heart  out  in  that  peculiarly  pathetic  threnody  which  no 
other  feathered  throat  contributes  to  the  varied  volume 
of  bird  lays.  Poised  on  the  point  of  an  iron  spike  in 
the  line  that  bristled  along  the  wall,  a  mocking  bird 
preened,  then  spread  his  wings,  soared  and  finally 
swept  downward,  thrilling  the  air  with  the  bravura  of 
the  "  tumbling  song"  ;  and  over  the  rampart  that 
shut  out  the  world,  drifted  the  refrain  of  a  paean  to 
peace : 

11  Bob  White  I"    "  Peas  ripe  ?"     "  Not  quite  !" 

In  the  vast  epic  of  the  Cosmos,  evoked  when  the 


124  AT   THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

"  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the  face  of  the  waters"— 
an  epic  printed  in  stars  on  blue  abysses  of  illimitable 
space ;  in  illuminated  type  of  rose  leaf,  primrose  petal, 
scarlet  berry  on  the  great  greenery  of  field  and  for 
est  ;  in  the  rainbows  that  glow  on  tropical  humming 
birds,  on  Himala3^an  pheasants,  on  dying  dolphins  in 
purple  seas ;  and  in  all  the  riotous  carnival  of  color  on 
Nature's  palette,  from  shifting  glory  of  summer 
clouds,  to  the  steady  fires  of  red  autumn  skies — we  find 
no  blot,  no  break,  no  blurred  abortive  passages,  until 
man  stepped  into  creation's  story.  In  the  material, 
physical  Universe,  the  divine  rhythm  flows  on,  ma 
jestic,  serene  as  when  the  ' '  morning  stars  sang  to 
gether"  in  the  choral  of  praise  to  Him,  unto  whom  "all 
seemed  good";  but  in  the  moral  and  spiritual  realm 
evolved  by  humanity,  what  hideous  pandemonium  of 
discords  drowns  the  heavenly  harmony  ?  What  grim 
havoc  marks  the  swath,  when  the  dripping  scythe  of 
human  sin  and  crime  swings  madly,  where  the  lilies  of 
eternal  "  Peace  on  earth,  good  will  to  man,"  should 
lift  their  silver  chalices  to  meet  the  smile  of  God  ? 

A  vague  conception  of  this  vexing  problem,  which 
like  a  huge  carnivorous  spectre,  flaps  its  dusky  wings 
along  the  sky  of  sociology,  now  saddened  Mrs.  Single 
ton's  meditations,  as  she  watched  the  lengthening 
shadow  cast  by  the  tower  upon  the  court-yard ;  but 
she  was  not  addicted  to  abstract  speculation,  and  the 
words  of  her  favorite  hymn  epitomized  her  thoughts : 
"  Though  every  prospect  pleases,  and  only  man  is  vile." 

The  brazen  clang  of  the  deep-throated  bell  rang  out 
on  the  quiet  air,  and  a  moment  later,  the  piercing  treble 
of  a  child's  cry  made  her  spring  to  her  feet.  She 
peeped  into  the  chapel,  all  was  still. 

On  tiptoe  she  passed  swiftly  down  the  aisle  to  the 
chancel,  and  saw  the  figure  crouched  at  the  altar,  with 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  125 

one  arm  twined  through  the  railing.  For  many  days 
and  nights  the  tortured  woman  had  not  known  an  in 
stant  of  repose ;  nervous  dread  had  scourged  her  to 
the  verge  of  frenzy,  but  when  the  flow  of  long-pent 
tears  partly  extinguished  the  fire  in  her  brain,  over 
taxed  Nature  claimed  restitution,  and  the  prisoner 
yielded  to  overwhelming  prostration.  Death  might 
be  hovering  near,  but  her  twin  sister  sleep  intervened, 
and  compassionately  laid  her  poppies  on  the  snowy 
eyelids. 

Stooping  close,  Mrs.  Singleton  saw  that  tears  yet 
hung  on  the  black  lashes  which  swept  the  flushed 
cheeks,  but  the  parted  lips  were  at  rest,  and  the  deep 
regularly  drawn  breath  told  her  that  at  last  the  weary 
soul  reposed  in  the  peaceful  domain  of  dreams.  Deftly, 
and  softly  as  thistle-down  falls,  she  spread  her  own 
shawl  over  the  drooping  shoulders,  then  noiselessly 
hurried  back  to  the  door.  Locking  it,  she  took  the 
key,  ran  across  the  grass,  into  the  arcade,  and  up  to 
the  great  iron  barrier,  which  the  guard  opened  as  she 
approached.  With  flying  feet  she  neared  her  own 
apartments,  whence  issued  the  indignant  wail  of  her 
implacable  baby  girl.  As  she  opened  the  door,  her 
husband  held  the  disconsolate  child  toward  her. 

"  You  are  in  time  for  your  share  of  the  fun;  I  have 
had  enough  and  to  spare.  How  you  stand  this  diaboli 
cal  din  day  in,  day  out,  passes  my  comprehension. 
You  had  not  been  gone  fifteen  minutes  when  Missy 
tuned  up.  I  patted  and, '  she-e-d  '  her,  but  she  got  her 
head  above  cover,  squinted  around  the  room,  and  not 
finding  you,  set  up  a  squall  that  would  have  scared  a 
wildcat.  The  more  I  patted,  the  worse  she  screamed, 
and  her  feet  and  hands  flew  around  like  a  wind-mill, 
I  took  her  up,  and  trotted  her  on  my  knee,  but 
bless  you  !  she  squirmed  like  an  eel,  and  her  little  bald 


126  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

head  bobbed  up  and  down  faster  than  a  di-dapper. 
Then  I  walked  her,  but  I  would  as  soon  try  to  swing 
to  a  greased  snake.  She  wriggled  and  bucked,  and 

tied  herself  up  into  a  bow  knot,  and  yelled .  Oh  ! 

a  Comanche  pappoose  is  a  dummy  to  her.  As  if  I  had 
not  hands  full,  arms  full,  and  ears  full,  Dick  must  needs 
wake  up  and  pitch  head  foremost  out  of  the  cradle,  and 
turn  a  double  summerset  before  he  landed  upside  down 
on  the  floor,  whereupon  he  lifted  up  his  voice,  and  the 
concert  grew  lively.  I  took  him  under  one  arm,  so, 
and  laid  Missy  over  my  shoulder,  and  it  struck  me  I 
would  join  the  chorus  in  self  defence,  so  I  opened  with 
all  my  might  on  <  Hold  the  Fort';  but  great  Tecum- 
seh  !  I  only  insulted  them  both,  and  finding  my  fifth 
fiddle  was  nowhere  in  the  fray,  I  feared  Jarvis  would 
hear  the  howling  and  ring  the  alarm  bell,  so  I  just  sat 
down.  I  spread  out  Dick  in  a  soft  place,  where  ho 
could  not  bump  his  brains  out,  and  laying  my  lady 
across  my  lap,  I  held  her  down  by  main  force,  while 
she  screamed  till  she  was  black  in  the  face.  If  you 
had  not  come  just  when  you  did,  I  should  have  turned 
gray  and  cross-eyed.  Hello,  Missy !  If  she  is  not 
cooing  and  laughing  !  Little  vixen  !  Oh!  but— 'lambs'! 
—I  believe  they  are  !  Hereafter  tend  your  own  flock ; 
and  in  preference  I  will  herd  young  panthers." 

He  wiped  his  forehead  where  the  perspiration  stood 
in  drops,  and  watched  with  amazement  the  sudden 
lull  in  the  tempest. 

Clasped  in  her  mother's  arms,  the  baby  smiled  and 
gurgled,  and  Dick,  drying  his  eyes  on  the  maternal 
bosom,  showed  the  exact  spot  where  she  must  kiss  his 
bruised  head. 

e  ( Ned,  what  have  you  done  ?  This  baby's  hair  is 
dripping  wet,  and  so  is  the  neck  of  her  dress." 

"  Serves  her  right  too.    I  sprinkled  her,  that's  all." 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  127 

"  Sprinkled  her  !    Have  you  lost  your  senses  ?" 

"  Shouldn't  wonder  if  I  had ;  people  in  bedlam  arc 
apt  to  be  crazy.  Yes,  I  sprinkled  Missy,  because  she 
turned  so  black  in  the  face,  I  thought  she  was  strang 
ling  ;  and  my  step-mother  always  sprinkled  me  when 
I  had  a  fit  of  tantrums.  But  let  me  tell  you,  Missy 
will  never  be  a  zealous  Baptist,  she  doesn't  take  to 
water  kindly." 

' '  When  I  want  my  children  step-mothered  I  will  let 
you  know.  Give  me  that  towel,  and  baby's  woollen 
cap  hanging  on  the  knob  of  the  bureau.  Bless  her 
precious  heart !  if  she  does  not  keep  you  up  all  night, 
with  the  croup,  you  may  thank  your  stars." 

"  Susie,  just  tell  me  how  you  tame  them,  so  that 
next  time — " 

"  Next  time,  sir,  I  shall  not  trust  you.  I  just  love 
them,  and  they  know  it ;  that  is  what  tames  the  whole 
world." 

Edward  Singleton  stooped  over  his  wife,  and  kissed 
her  rosy  cheek. 

"  Little  woman,  what  luck  had  you  in  No.  19  ?" 

"  The  best  I  could  wish.  I  have  saved  that  poor  gir) 
from  brain-fever,  I  hope." 

"  How  did  you  manage  it  ?" 

"  Just  simply  because  I  am  a  flesh  and  blood- woman, 
and  not  a  blundering,  cast-iron  man." 

"  How  does  she  seem  now?" 

"  She  has  had  a  good,  hearty  spell  of  wholesome  cry 
ing;  no  hysterics,  mind  you, but  floods  of  tears;  and  now 
she  is  sound  asleep  with  her  head  on  the  altar  railing, 
in  the  chapel.  I  locked  her  up  there,  and  here  is  the 
key.  When  she  wakes,  I  want  her  brought  up  here, 
put  in  that  room  yonder,  and  left  entirely  to  me,  until 
her  trial  is  over.  I  never  do  things  half  way,  Ned, 
and  you  need  not  pucker  your  eyebrows,  for  I  will  be 


128  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

responsible  for  her.  I  have  put  my  hand  to  the  plough, 
and  you  are  not  to  meddle  with  the  lines,  till  I  finish 
my  furrow." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

TN  one  of  the  "outhouses"  which  constituted  the 
A  servants'  quarters,  in  that  which  common  par 
lance  denominated  the  "back-yard  "  at  "Elm  Bluff," 
an  old  negro  woman  sat  smoking  a  pipe. 

The  room  which  she  had  occupied  for  more  than 
forty  years,  presented  a  singular  melange  of  incon 
gruous  odds  and  ends,  the  flotsam  of  a  long  term  of 
service,  where  the  rewards,  if  intrinsically  incommen 
surate,  were  none  the  less  invaluable,  to  the  proud 
recipient.  The  floor  was  covered  by  a  faded  carpet, 
once  the  pride  of  the  great  drawing-room,  but  the 
velvet  pile  had  disappeared  beneath  the  arched 
insteps  and  high  heels  of  lovely  belles  and  haughty 
beaux,  and  the  scarlet  feathers  and  peacock  plumes 
that  originally  glowed  on  the  brilliant  buff  ground, 
were  no  longer  distinguishable. 

An  old-fashioned  piece  of  furniture,  coeval  with 
diamond  shoe-buckles,  ruffled  shirts  and  queues,  a  brass 
bound  mahogany  chiffonier,  with  brass  handles  and 
tall  brass  feet  representing  cat  claws,  stood  in  one 
corner ;  and  across  the  top  was  stretched  a  rusty 
purple  velvet  strip,  bordered  with  tarnished  gilt  gimp 
and  fringe,  a  fragment  of  the  cover  which  belonged  to 
the  harp  on  which  General  Darrington's  grandmother 
had  played. 

The  square  bedstead  was  a  marvel  in  size  and 
massiveness,  and  the  heavy  mahogany  posts  nearly 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  129 

black  with  age,  and  carved  like  the  twisted  strands 
of  a  rope,  supported  a  tester  lined  with  turkey-red 
pleatings,  held  in  the  centre  by  the  talons  of  a  gilt 
spread-eagle.  So  tall  was  the  bed,  that  three  steps 
were  required  to  ascend  it,  and  the  space  thus  left 
between  the  mahogany  and  the  floor,  was  hidden  by  a 
valance  of  white  dimity,  garnished  with  wide  cotton 
fringe.  Over  this  spacious  place  of  repose,  a  patch 
work  quilt  of  the  "  rising  sun  "  pattern  displayed  its 
gaudy  rays,  resembling  some  sprawling  octopus, 
rather  than  the  face  of  Phoebus. 

The  contents  of  a  wide  mantel  board  flounced  with 
fringed  dimity,  (venerable  prototype  of  macrame  and 
Arrasene  lambrequins),  would  have  filled  with  covet- 
ousness  the  soul  of  the  bric-a-brac  devotee  ;  and  graced 
the  counters  of  Sypher. 

There  were  burnished  brass  candle-sticks,  with  ex 
tinguishers  in  the  shape  of  prancing  griffins,  and 
snuffers  of  the  same  metal,  fashioned  after  the  simil 
itude  of  some  strange  and  presumably  extinct  saurian; 
and  a  Dresden  china  shepherdess,  whose  shattered 
crook  had  long  since  disappeared,  peeped  coquettishly 
through  the  engraved  crystal  of  a  tall  candle  shade  at 
the  bloated  features  of  a  mandarin,  on  a  tea-pot  with 
a  cracked  spout — that  some  Darrington,  stung  by  the 
gad-fly  of  travel,  had  brought  to  the  homestead  from 
Nanking.  A  rich  blue  glass  vase  poised  on  the 
back  of  a  bronze  swan,  which  had  lost  one  wing  and 
part  of  its  bill  in  the  combat  with  time,  hinted  at  the 
rainbow  splendors  of  its  native  Prague,  and  bewailed  the 
captivity  that  degraded  its  ullra-marine  depths  into  a 
receptacle  for  cut  tobacco. 

The  walls,  ceiled  with  curled  pine  planks,  were  cov 
ered  with  a  motlej^  array  of  pasted  and  tacked  pictures; 
some  engraved,  many  colored,  and  ranging  in  com- 


130  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

prehensiveness  of  designs,  from  Bible  scene*  6xil 
magazines,  to  "  riots  "  in  illustrated  papers  ;  and  even 
the  garish  glory  of  circus  and  theatre  posters. 

In  one  corner  stood  an  oak  spinning-wheel,  more 
than  centenarian  in  age,  fallen  into  hopeless  desuetude^ 
but  gay  with  the  strings  of  scarlet  pepper  pods  hung 
up  to  dry,  and  twined  among  its  silent  spokes.  On  a 
trivet  provided  with  lizard  feet  that  threatened  to 
crawl  away,  rested  a  copper  kettle  bereft  of  its  top, 
once  the  idol  of  three  generations  of  Darringtons,  to 
whom  it  had  liberally  dispensed  "  hot  water  tea, "  in  the 
blessed  dead  and  embalmed  era  of  nursery  rule  and 
parental  power  ;  now  eschewed  with  its  despised  use, 
and  packed  to  the  brim  with  medicinal  "yarbs,"  bone- 
set,  horse  mint,  life  everlasting,  and  snake-root. 

In  front  of  the  fire  which  roared  and  crackled  in  the 
cavernous  chimney,  "  Mam'  Dyce  "  rocked  slowly,  en 
joying  her  clay  pipe,  and  meditatively  gazing  up  at  an 
engraved  portrait  of  "  Our  First  President,"  sus 
pended  on  the  wall.  It  was  appropriately  framed  in 
black,  and  where  the  cord  that  held  it  was  twined 
around  a  hook,  a  bow  and  streamers  of  very  brown 
and  rusty  crape  fluttered,  when  a  draught  entered 
the  apartment. 

Obese  in  form,  and  glossy  black  in  complexion, 
"  Mam'  Dyce  "  retained  in  old  age  the  scrupulous  neat 
ness  which  had  characterized  her  youth,  when  pro 
moted  to  the  post  of  seamstress  and  ladies'  maid,  she 
had  ruled  the  servants'  realm  at  "  Elm  Bluff  "  with  a 
sway  as  autocratic  as  that  of  Catherine  over  the  Mus 
covites.  Her  black  calico  dress,  donned  as  mourning 
for  her  master,  was  relieved  by  a  white  apron  tied 
about  the  ample  waist;  a  snowy  handkerchief  was 
crossed  over  the  vast  bosom,  and  a  checked  white  and 
black  turban  skilfully  wound  in  intricate  folds  around 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  181 

her  gray  head,  terminated  in  a  peculiar  knot, 
which  was  the  pride  of  her  toilet.  A  beautiful 
spotted  pointer  dog  with  ears  like  brown  satin, 
was  lying  asleep  near  the  fire,  but  suddenly  he  lifted 
his  head,  rose,  stretched  himself  and  went  to  the  door. 
A  moment  later  it  opened,  and  the  whilom  major- 
domo,  Abednego,  came  in ;  put  his  stick  in  one  corner, 
hung  his  hat  on  a  wooden  peg,  and  approached  the 
fire-place. 

t(  Well,  ole  man ;  you  know  I  tole  you  so." 

"You  wimmen  would  ruther  say  that,  than  eat 
pound  cake.  Supposin'  you  did  tell  me,  what's  the 
upshot?" 

"  That  gimlet-eyed  weasel  is  snuffing  round  you 
and  me ;  but  we  won't  turn  out  to  be  spring  chickens, 
ready  picked." 

"  Which  is  to  signify  that  Miss  Angerline  smells  a 
mouse  ?  Don't  talk  parables,  Dyce.  What's  she 
done  now  ?" 

"  She  is  hankering  after  that  hankchiff.  '  Pears  to 
me,  if  she  only  went  on  four  legs  'sted  of  two,  she 
would  sell  high  for  a  bloodhound." 

"  Great  Nebuckadanzer !     How  did  she  find  out?" 

"  Don't  ax  me  ;  ax  the  witches  what  she  has  in  ca 
hoot.  I  always  tole  you,  she  had  the  eyes  of  a  cunjor, 
and  she  has  sarched  it  out.  Says  she  saw  you  when 
you  found  it;  which  ain't  true.  Eaves-drapping  is 
her  trade ;  she  was  f otch  up  on  it,  and  her  ears  fit  a 
key-hole,  like  a  bung  plugs  a  barrel.  She  has  eaves- 
drapped  that  hankchiff  chat  of  our'n  somehow.  Wuss 
than  that,  Bedney,  she  sot  thar  this  evening  and 
faced  me  down,  that  I  was  hiding  something  else  ; 
that  I  picked  up  something  on  the  floor  and  hid  it 
in  my  bosom,  after  the  crowner's  inquess.  Sez  I : 
*  Well,  Miss  Angerline,  you  had  better  sarch  me  and  be 


132  AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

done  with  it,  if  you  are  the  judge,  and  the  jury,  and 
the  crowner,  and  the  law,  and  have  got  the  job  to  run 
this  case.'  Sez  she,  a-squinting  them  venomous  eyes 
of  her'n,  till  they  looked  like  knitting  needles  red  hot : 
'  I  leave  the  sarching  to  he  done  by  the  cunstable— 
when  you  are  'rested  and  handcuffed  for  '  betting  of 
murder.'  Then  my  dander  riz.  Sez  I,  '  Crack  your 
whip  and  go  ahead  !  You  know  how,  seeing  you  is 
the  offspring  of  a  Yankee  overseer,  what  my  marster, 
Gin'l  Darrington,  had  'rested  for  beating  one  of  our 
wimen,  on  our  'Bend'  plantation.  You  and  your  pa 
is  as  much  alike,  as  two  shrivelled  cow  peas  out'en  one 
pod.  Fetch  your  cunstable,  and  help  yourselves.'  " 

Dyce  rose,  knocked  the  ashes  out  of  her  pipe,  and 
stood  like  a  dusky  image  of  an  Ethiopian  Bellona. 

"  Drat  your  servigerous  tongue  !  Now  the  fat's  in 
the  fire,  to  be  sho  !  Ever  since  I  tuck  you  for  better 
for  wuss,  I  have  been  trying  to  larn  you  'screshun ! 
and  I  might  as  well  'a  wasted  my  time  picking  a  banjo 
for  a  dead  jackass  to  dance  by ;  for  you  have  got  no 
more  'screshun  than  old  Eve  had,  in  confabulating 
with  the  old  adversary  !  Why  couldn't  you  temper- 
lize  ?  Sassing  that  white  'oman,  is  a  aggervating  mis 
take." 

Under  ordinary  circumstances,  Bedney  and  Dyce 
prided  themselves  on  the  purity  of  their  diction,  and 
they  usually  abstained  from  plantation  dialect ;  but 
when  embarrassed,  frightened  or  excited,  they  invari 
ably  relapsed  into  the  lingo  of  the  "  Quarters." 

"  Hush  !  What's  that  ?  A  screech  owull !  Bed 
ney,  turn  your  pocket." 

With  marvellous  swiftness  she  plunged  her  hand  in 
to  her  dress  pocket,  and  turned  it  wrong  side  out,  scat 
tering  the  contents — thimble,  thread,  two  "  scaly- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  138 

barks,"  and  some  "  ground  peas  "  over  the  floor.  Then 
stooping,  she  slipped  off  one  shoe,  turned  it  upside 
down,  and  hung  it  thus  on  a  horseshoe  fastened  to  the 
mantel  board. 

"  Just  lem'me  know  when  you  have  appinted  to 
hold  your  sarching,  and  I  will  make  it  convenient  to 
have  bizness  consarning  that  bunch  of  horgs  and  cattle, 
I  am  raising  on  shares  in  the  '  Bend'  plantation ;  and 
you  can  have  your  sarching  frolic."  Said  Bedney, 
too  angry  to  heed  the  superstitious  rites. 

Dyce  made  a  warning  gesture,  and  listened  in 
tently. 

"  I  am  a-thinking  you  will  be  chief  cook  and  bottle- 
washer  at  that  sarching,  for  theappintmentisathand. 
Don't  you  hear  Pilot  baying  the  cunstable  ?" 

She  sank  into  her  rocking-chair,  picked  up  a  gray 
yarn  sock,  and  began  to  knit  unconcernedly ;  but  in  a 
significant  tone,  she  added,  nodding  her  head  : 

"Hold  your  own  hand,  Bedney;  don't  be  pestered 
about  mine.  I'll  hoe  my  row  ;  you  'tend  to  yourn." 

Then  she  leaned  back,  plying1  her  knitting  needles, 
and  began  to  chant :  "  Who  will  be  the  leader  when 
the  Bridegroom  comes  ?" 

Hearing  the  knock  on  the  door,  her  voice  swelled 
louder,  and  Bedney,  the  picture  of  perplexity,  stood 
filling  his  pipe,  when  the  bolt  was  turned,  and  a  gentle 
man  holding  a  whip  and  wearing  a  long1  overcoat  en 
tered  the  room. 

"  Good  evening1,  Bedney.  Are  you  and  Dyce  hold 
ing  a  camp  meeting  all  by  yourselves  ?  I  hallooed  aA 
the  gate  till  your  dog  threatened  to  devour  me,  and  ) 
had  to  scare  him  off  with  my  buggy  whip." 

' '  Why,  how'dy,  Mars  Alfred  ?  I  am  mighty  glad 
to  see  you  !  Seems  like  old  times,  to  shake  hands  with 
you  in  my  cabin.  Lem'me  take  off  your  overcoat,  sir, 


134:  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

and  gim'me  your  hat,  and  make  yourself  comfortable, 
here  by  the  jam  of  the  chimbly." 

"No,  Bedney,  I  can't  spare  the  time,  and  I  only 
want  a  little  business  matter  settled  before  I  get  back 
to  town  to  my  office.  Thank  you,  Dyce,  this  is  an  old- 
time  rocker  sure  enough.  It  is  a  regular  *  Sleepy  Hol 
low.'  " 

Mr.  Churchill  pushed  back  his  hat,  and  held  his 
gloved  hand  toward  the  fire. 

"  Bedney,  I  want  to  see  that  handkerchief  you  found 
in  your  master's  room,  the  day  after  he  was  mur 
dered." 

' '  What  hankchuf ,  Marse  Alfred  ?  I  done  tole  every 
thing  I  know,  to  the  Crowner's  inquess." 

"  I  dare  say  you  did ;  but  something  was  found 
afterward.  I  want  to  see  it." 

"  Who  has  been  villifying  of  me  ?  You  have  knowed 
me  ever  since  you  was  knee-high  to  a  duck,  and  I — ." 

"  Nobody  has  vilified  you,  but  Miss  Dobbs  saw  you 
examining  something,  which  she  says  you  pushed  up 
your  coat  sleeve.  She  thinks  it  was  a  handkerchief, 
but  it  may  have  been  valuables.  Now  it  is  my  duty, 
as  District  Solicitor,  to  discover  and  prosecute  the 
person  who  killed  your  master,  and  you  ought  to 
render  me  every  possible  assistance.  Any  unwilling 
ness  to  give  your  testimony,  or  surrender  the  articles 
found,  will  cast  suspicion  on  you,  and  I  should  be 
sorry  to  have  you  arrested." 

"  Fore  Gord,  Marse  Alfred,  I—" 

"  Own  up,  husband.  You  did  find  a  hankchef.  You 
see,  Marse  Alfred,  we  helped  to  raise  that  poor  young 
gal's  mother ;  and  Bedney  and  me  was  'votedly 
attached  to  our  young  Mistiss,  Miss  Ellie,  and  we 
thought  ole  Marster  was  too  hard  on  her,  when  she 
run  off  with  the  f urrin  fiddler ;  so  when  this  awful 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  135 

'fliction  fell  upon  us  and  everybody  was  'cusing  Miss 
Elite's  child  of  killing-  her  own  grandpa,  we  couldn't 
believe  no  such  onlikely  yarn,  and  Bedney  and  me  has 
done  swore  our  vow,  we  will  stand  by  that  poor  young 
creetur,  for  her  ma's  sake  ;  for  our  young-  mistiss  was 
g-ood  to  us,  and  our  heart  strings  was  'rapped  round 
her.  We  does  not  intend,  if  we  can  help  it,  to  lend  a 
hand  in  jailing  Miss  Ellie's  child,  and  so,  after  the 
Orowner  had  'liceted  all  the  facts  as  he  said,  and  the 
verdict  was  made  up,  Bedney  and  me  didn't  feel  no 
crampings  in  our  conscience,  about  holding  our 
tongues.  Another  reason  why  we  wanted  to  lay  Jow 
in  this  hiere  bizness,  was  that  we  didn't  hanker  after 
sitting  on  the  anxious  seats  of  witnesses  in  the  court 
house  ;  and  being  called  ongodly  thieves,  and  perjured 
liars,  and  turned  wrong  side  out  by  the  lie-yers,  and 
told  our  livers  was  white,  and  our  hearts  blacker  than 
our  skins.  Marse  Alfred,  Bedney  and  me  are  scared 
of  that  court ;  what  you  call  the  law,  cuts  curous  con- 
tarabims  sometimes,  and  when  the  broad  axe  of 
jestice  hits,  there  is  no  telling  whar  the  chips  will  fly  ; 
it's  wuss  than  hull-gull,  or  pitching  heads  and  tails. 
You  are  a  lie-yer,  Marse  Alfred,  and  you  know  how  it 
is  yourself ;  and  I  beg  your  pardon,  sir,  for  slighting 
the  perfession ;  but  when  I  was  a  little  gal,  I  got  my 
scare  of  lie-yers,  and  it  has  stuck  to  me  like  a  kuckle- 
burrow.  One  Christmas  eve  jest  before  ole  Marster 
got  married,  he  had  a  egg-nog  party;  and  a  lot  of 
irentlemen  was  standing  'round  the  table  in  the  dining- 
room.  One  of  'em  was  ole  Mr.  Dunbar,  Marse  Len 
nox'  father,  and  he  axed  ole  Marster  if  he  had  saved 
that  game  rooster  for  him,  as  he  promised.  Marster 
told  him  he  was  very  sorry,  but  some  rogue  had  done 
gone  and  burnt  some  sulphur  the  week  before  in  his 
hen-nous,  and  bagged  that  'dentical  rooster.  Pres- 


136  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

ently  Mr.  Dunbar  axed  if  Marster  would  let  him  have 
one  of  the  blue  hen's  roosters,  if  he  would  catch  the 
rogue  for  him  before  midnight.  Of  course  Marster  said 
he  would.  Mr.  Dunbar  (Marse  Lennox'  pa),  he  was 
practicing-  law  then,  had  a  pot  full  of  smut  on  the 
bottom,  turned  upside  down  on  the  dining-room  flo', 
and  he  and  Marster  went  out  to  the  hen-'ouse  and  got 
a  dominicker  rooster  arid  shoved  him  under  the  pot. 
Then  they  rung  the  bell,  and  called  every  darkey  on 
the  place  into  the  dining-room,  and  made  us  stand  in 
a  line.  I  was  a  little  gal  then,  only  so  high,  but  I 
followed  my  daddy  in  the  house,  and  I  never  shall 
disremember  that  night,  'cause  it  broke  up  our  home 
preachment.  Mr.  Dunbar  made  a  speech,  and  the 
upshot  of  it  was,  that  every  darkey  was  to  walk  past 
the  pot  and  rub  his  finger  in  the  smut ;  and  he  swore  a 
solemn  oath,  that  when  the  pusson  that  stole  that  fine 
game  rooster,  touched  the  pot,  the  dominicker  rooster 
would  crow.  As  Marster  called  our  names,  we 
every  one  marched  out  and  rubbed  the  pot,  and  when 
all  of  us  had  tried,  the  rooster  hadn't  crowed.  Mr. 
Dunbar  said  there  was  some  mistake  somewhere,  and 
he  made  us  step  up  and  show  hands,  and  make  prints 
on  his  hankcher ;  and  lo,  and  behold  !  one  darkey  had 
not  touched  the  pot ;  his  forefinger  was  clean  ;  so  Mr. 
Dunbar,  says,  '  Luke,  here  is  your  thief  ?'  and  shore 
'nuff,  it  was  our  preacher,  and  he  owned  up.  I  never 
forgot  that  trick,  and  from  that  day  'till  now,  I  have 
been  more  scared  of  a  lie-yer,  than  I  am  of  a  mad  dog. 
They  is  the  only  perfession  that  the  Bible  is  agin,  for 
you  know  they  jawed  our  Lord  hisself,  and  he  said, 
'Woe !  woe  !  to  you  lie-yers.'  Now,  Marse  Alfred,  if 
you  have  made  up  your  mind  you  are  gwine  to  have 
that  hankcher,  it  will  be  bound  to  come  ;  for  if  it  was 
tied  to  a  millstone  and  d rapped  in  the  sea,  you  lie-yers 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  137 

would  float  it  into  court ;  so  Bedney,  jest  perduce  what 
you  found." 

"  That  is  right,  Dyce ;  I  am  glad  your  opinion  of  my 
profession  has  forced  you  to  such  a  sensible  conclusion. 
Come,  Bedney,  no  balking  now." 

Perplexed  by  Dyce's  tactics,  Bedney  stood  irresolute, 
with  his  half-filled  pipe  slipping  from  his  fingers ;  and 
he  stared  at  his  wife  for  a  few  seconds,  hoping  that 
some  cue  would  be  furnished. 

k<  Bedney,  there's  no  use  in  being  cantankerous.  If 
you  won't  perduce  it,  I  will." 

Plunging  her  hand  into  the  blue  glass  bowl,  she  push 
ed  aside  the  tobacco,  and  extracted  a  key ;  then  cross 
ed  the  room,  lifted  the  valance  of  the  patriarchal  bed, 
and  dragged  out  a  small,  old-fashioned  hair  trunk, 
ornamented  with  stars  and  diamonds  of  brass  tack 
heads.  Drawing  it  across  the  floor,  she  sat  down  near 
Mr.  Churchill,  and  bending  over,  unlocked  and  opened 
it.  After  removing  many  articles  of  clothing,  and 
sundry  heirlooms,  she  lifted  from  the  bottom  a  bundle, 
which  she  laid  on  her  lap,  and  edging  her  chair  closer  to 
the  Solicitor,  proceeded  to  unfold  the  contents.  The 
outside  covering  was  a  richly  embroidered  Canton  crape 
shawl,  originally  white,  now  yellow  as  old  ivory  ;  but 
when  this  was  unwrapped,  there  appeared  only  an 
ordinary  sized  brown  gourd,  with  a  long  and  singular 
ly  curved  handle,  as  crooked  as  a  ram's  horn.  Bend 
ing  one  of  her  knitting  needles  into  a  hook,  Dyce  deft 
ly  inserted  it  in  the  neck,  where  it  joined  the  bowl, 
and  after  manoeuvring  a  few  seconds,  laid  down  the 
needle,  and  with  the  aid  of  her  thumb  and  forefinger 
slowly  drew  out  a  long  roll,  tightly  wrapped  with 
thread.  Unwinding  it,  she  shook  the  roll,  and  a 
small,  gray  object,  about  two  inches  long,  dropped 
into  her  lap.  Mr.  Churchill  sat  leaning  a  little 


138  AT  THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

forward,  as  if  intent  on  Dyce's  movements,  but  his 
elbow  rested  on  the  arm  of  the  rocking  chair,  and 
holding1  his  hand  up  to  screen  his  face  from  the 
blaze  of  the  fire,  he  was  closely  watching  Bedney. 
When  Dyce  shook  out  and  held  up  a  faded,  dingy 
blue  silk  handkerchief,  the  lawyer  noted  a  sudden 
twinkle  in  the  old  man's  eyes,  but  no  other  feature 
moved,  and  he  stooped  to  take  a  coal  of  fire  from  the 
hearth. 

"  There  is  the  hankchuf  that  Bedney  found.  But 
mebbe  you  don't  know  what  this  is,  that  I  wrapped  up 
in  it,  to  bring  us  good  luck  ?" 

She  spread  the  handkerchief  over  his  knee,  and  held 
up  the  small  gray  furry  object,  which  had  fallen  from 
its  folds. 

"  Rabbit's  foot  ?  Let  me  see ;  yes,  that  is  the  genuine 
left  hind  foot.  I  know  all  about  it,  because  when  my 
regiment  was  ordered  to  the  front,  my  old  colored 
Mammy — Ma'm  Judy — who  nursed  me,  sewed  one 
^ust  like  that,  inside  the  lining  of  my  coat  skirt.  But, 
Dyce,  that  rabbit's  foot  was  not  worth  a  button ;  for 
the  very  first  battle  I  was  in,  a  cannon  ball  killed  my 
horse  under  me,  and  carried  away  my  coat  tail — rabbit's 
foot  and  all.  Don't  pin  your  faith  to  left  hind  feet,  they 
are  fatal  frauds.  You  are  positive,  this  is  the  hand 
kerchief  Bedney  found  ?  It  smells  of  asafoetida  and 
camphor,  and  looks  like  it  had  recently  been  tied 
around  somebody's  sore  throat." 

"  Marse  Alfred,  I  will  swear  on  a  stack  of  Bibles  high 
as  the  'Piscopal  church  steeple,  that  Bedney  Darring- 
ton  girn'me  that  same  blue  hankcher,  and  he  said  he 
found  it,  I  wasn't  with  him  when  he  found  it,  but  I 
hardly  think  he  would  a'  stole  a'  old  rag  like  that.  I 
have  perduced  it ;  now  if  you  want  to  sarch  behind  it, 
you  must  tackle  Bedney." 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  139 

She  resumed  her  knitting  and  her  lips  closed  like  the 
spring-  of  a  steel  trap. 

' '  Dyce,  I  haven't  heard  the  rooster  crow  yet.  Some 
body  has  fought  shy  of  the  pot.  See  here,  I  am  in 
earnest  now,  and  I  will  give  you  "both  a  friendly  word 
of  warning.  Your  actions  are  so  suspicious,  that  un 
less  you  produce  the  real  article  you  found,  I  shall  be 
obliged  to  send  you  to  jail,  and  try  you  for  the  murder. 
How  do  I  know  that  you  and  Bedney  are  not  the  guilty 
parties,  instead  of  General  Darrington's  grand 
daughter  ?  This  soiled  rag  will  impose  neither  upon  me, 
nor  upon  the  court,  and  I  give  you  five  minutes  to  put 
into  my  possession  the  real  genuine  handkerchief.  I 
shall  know  it  when  I  see  it,  because  it  is  white,  with 
red  spots  on  the  border." 

"  Paddle  your  own '  dug  out',  Bedney,  and  show  your 
s'creshun.  If  Marse  Alfred  wants  to  set  the  red-eyed 
hounds  of  the  Law  on  an  innocent  'oman,  let  him  blow 
his  horn." 

She  knitted  assiduously,  and  looked  composedly  at 
her  husband,  whose  lower  jaw  had  suddenly  fallen, 
while  his  eyelids  blinked  nervously,  as  though  attacked 
by  St.  Vitus'  dance. 

"  Only  five  minutes,  Bedney.' 

Mr.  Churchill  took  out  his  watcn,  and  held  it 
open. 

"  You  see,  Marse  Alfred,  I—" 

"  I  don't  see  anything  but  an  infernal  fraud  you  two 
have  planned.  Only  three  minutes  more.  There  is  a 
constable  waiting  at  the  gate,  and  if  he  can  not  per 
suade  you  to — " 

"  Bedney,  step  and  fetch  him  in,  and  let  Marse 
Alfred  see  the  sarching  job  done  up  all  right." 

"  No,  I  don't  hunt  foxes  that  way.  Instead  of  search 
ing  thi&  cabin,  we  will  just  march  you  both  instantei 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

out  of  these  comfortable  quarters,  and  let  you  try  how 
soft  the  beds  are,  at  the ' State  boarding-house.'  You 
will  sleep  cold  on  iron  bunks,  and  miss  your  feathers 
and  your  crazy  quilts.  Time's  up." 

He  closed  his  watch,  with  a  snap,  and  rose  as  he 
returned  it  to  his  pocket. 

"Hold  on,  Marse  Alfred!  My  head  ain't  hard 
enough  to  run  it  plum  into  a  wolf's  jaws.  I  ain't 
'sponsible  for  nobody's  acts  but  my  own,  and  if  Dyce 
have  committed  a  pius  fraud,  in  this  here  hank'cher 
bizness,  to  screen  Miss  Ellie's  child,  why,  you  see  your 
self,  I  had  no  hand  in  it.  I  did  find  that  blue 
'  rag,'  as  you  seen  fit  to  call  it,  but  it  was  nigh  on  to 
twenty  years  ago,  when  I  pulled  it  out  of  the  breast 
pocket  of  a  dead  Yankee  officer,  we  found  lying  across 
a  cannon,  what  my  old  Marster's  regiment  captured 
at  the  battle  of  Manassas.  I  gin  it  to  my  wife  as  a 
screw- veneer  o'  the  war  and  she  have  treasured  it  ac- 
cordin'.  You  are  a  married  man  yourself,  Marse 
Alfred,  and  you  are  obleedged  to  know  that  wedlock 
is  such  a  tight  partnership,  that  it  is  an  awfully  resky 
thing  for  a  man  to  so  much  as  bat  his  eyes,  or  squint 
'em,  toward  the  west,  when  the  wife  of  his  bosom  has 
set  her'n  to  the  east.  I  have  always  'lowed  Dyce  her 
head,  'pecially  in  jokes  like  that  one  she  was  playing 
on  you  just  now,  'cause  St.  John  the  Baptist  said  a 
man  must  forsake  father  and  mother  and  cleave  unto 
his  wife;  but  conjugular  harness  is  one  thing,  and 
the  law  is  another,  and  I  don't  hanker  after  forsak 
ing  my  pine-knot  fire,  and  feather  bed,  to  cleave 
unto  jail  bars,  and  handcuffs.  I  see  you  are  tired  of 
Dyce's  jokes,  and  you  mean  bizzness ;  and  I  don't 
intend  to  consume  no  more  of  your  valuable  Solicit 
ous  time.  Dyce,  fetch  me  that  plai?k  bottom  cher  to 
stand  on." 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  141 

"  Fetch  it  yourself.  Paddling-  your  own  canoe, 
means  headin'  for  the  mill  dam." 

Bedney  hastened  to  procure  the  designated  chair, 
which  he  mounted  in  front  of  the  mantel  piece,  and 
thence  reaching  up  to  the  portrait  of  President  Lin 
coln,  took  it  carefully  down  from  the  hook.  With  the 
blade  of  his  pocket-knife,  he  loosened  some  tacks  which 
secured  the  thin  pine  slats  at  the  back  of  the  picture, 
and  removed  them.  He  took  everything  from  the 
frame,  and  blank  dismay  seized  him,  when  the  desired 
object  was  nowhere  visible. 

"  Marse  Alfred,  I  swear  I  tacked  that  hank'cher  in 
the  back  of  this  here  portrait,  between  the  pasteboard 
and  the  brown  paper,  only  yestiddy ;  and  'fore  Gord  1 
I  haint  seen  it  since." 

Grasping  his  wife's  shoulder,  he  shook  her,  until  her 
tall  turban  quivered  and  bent  over  like  t'he  Tower  of 
Pisa,  and  Mr.  Churchill  saw  that  in  his  unfeigned 
terror,  drops  of  perspiration  broke  out  on  his  wrinkled 
forehead. 

"  Have  you  turned  idjut,  that  you  want  us  both  to 
be  devoured  by  the  roarin'  lion  of  the  Law  ?  My  mam 
my  named  me  Bedney,  not  Dani-yell,  and  she  had 
oughter,  for  Gord  knows,  you  have  kept  me  in  a  fiery 
f unnace  ever  since  I  tuck  you  for  better  for  wurser, 
mostly  wurser.  I  want  that  hank'cher,  and  you'd 
better  believe — I  want  it  quick.  I  found  it,  and  I'm 
gwine  to  give  it  up;  and  you  have  got  no  right  to 
jeppardy  my  life,  if  you  are  fool  enough  to  resk  your 
own  stiff  neck.  Gim'me  that  hank'cher  !  Fantods  is 
played  out.  I  would  ruther  play  leap  frog  over  a 
buzz-saw  than — than — pester  and  rile  Marse  Alfred, 
and  have  the  cunstable  clawing  my  collar." 

"You  poor,  pitiful,  rascally,  cowardly  creetur! 
Whar's  that  oath  you  done  swore,  to  help  'fend  Miss 


14:2  AT  TBE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

Ellie's  child  ?  And  you  a  deacon,  high  in  the  church  I 
If  I  had  found  that  hank'cher,  I  would  hide  it,  tui 
Gabriel's  horn  blows;  and  I  would  go  to  jail  or  to 
Jericho  ;  and  before  I  would  give  testimony  agin  my 
dear  young  Mistiss's  poor  friendless  gal,  I  would  chaw 
my  tongue  into  sassage  meat.  That's  the  diffunce  be 
tween  a  palavering  man  full  of  'screshun,  and  a 
'oman  who  means  what  she  says  ;  and  will  stand  by 
her  word,  if  it  rains  fire  and  brimstone.  Betrayin' 
and  denying  the  innercent,  has  been  men's  work,  ever 
since  the  time  of  Judas  and  Peter.  Now,  Marse 
Alfred,  Bedney  did  tack  the  hank'cher  inside  the  por 
trait  of  President  Linkum,  'cause  we  thought  that  was 
the  saftest  place,  but  I  knowed  the  house  would  be 
sarched,  so  I  jest  hid  it  in  a  better  place.  Since  he 
ain't  showed  no  more  backbone  than  a  saucer  of  blue- 
mange,  I  shall  have  to  give  it  up ;  but  if  I  had  found 
it,  you  would  never  set  your  two  eyes  on  it,  while  my 
head  is  warm." 

She  stooped,  lifted  the  wide  hem  of  her  black  calico 
skirt,  and  proceeded  to  pick  out  the  stitches  which  held 
it  securely.  When  she  had  ripped  the  thread  about  a 
quarter  of  a  yard,  she  raised  the  edge  of  the  unusually 
deep  hem,  and  drew  out  a  white  handkerchief  with  a 
colored  border. 

Bedney  snatched  it  from  her,  and  handed  it  to  the 
Solicitor,  who  leaned  close  to  the  fire,  and  carefully 
examined  it.  As  he  held  it  up  by  the  corners,  his  face 
became  very  grave  and  stern,  and  he  sighed. 

"This  is  evidently  a  lady's  handkerchief,  and  is  so 
important  in  the  case,  that  1  shall  keep  it  until  the 
trial  is  over.  Bedney,  come  to  my  office  by  nine  o'clock 
to-morrow,  as  the  Grand  Jury  may  ask  you  some 
questions.  Good  bye,  Dyce,  shake  hands;  for  I 
honor  your  loyalty  to  your  poor  young  mistress,  and 


AT   THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  143 

her  unfortunate  child.  You  remind  me  of  my  own 
old  mammy.  Dear  good  soul,  she  was  as  true  as 
steel." 

As  Mr.  Churchill  left  the  house,  Bedney  accompa 
nied  him  to  the  gate.  When  he  returned,  the  door 
was  locked.  In  vain  he  demanded  admittance ;  in 
vain  tried  the  windows  ;  every  entrance  was  securely 
barred,  and  though  he  heard  Dyce  moving  about 
within,  she  deigned  no  answer  to  his  earnest 
pleadings,  his  vehement  expostulations,  or  his  fierce 
threats  of  summary  vengeance.  The  remainder  of 
that  night  was  spent  by  Pilot  and  his  irate  master  in 
the  great  hay  bin  of  the  "  Elm  Bluff  "  stables.  When 
the  sun  rose  next  morning,  Bedney  rushed  wrathful 
as  Achilles,  to  resent  his  wrongs.  The  door  of  his 
house  stood  open ;  a  fire  glowed  on  the  well  swept 
hearth,  where  a  pot  of  boiling  coffee  and  a  plate  of 
biscuit  welcomed  him  ;  but  Dyce  was  nowhere  visible, 
and  a  vigorous  search  soon  convinced  him  she  had 
left  home  on  some  pressing  errand. 

Two  hours  later,  Mrs.  Singleton  opened  the  door  of 
the  small  room  adjoining  her  own  bedchamber,  to 
which  she  had  insisted  upon  removing  the  prisoner. 

Beryl  stood  leaning  against  the  barred  window,  and 
did  not  even  turn  her  head. 

"Here  is  a  negro  woman,  begging  to  see  you  for  a 
few  moments.  She  says  she  is  an  old  family  servant 
of  General  Darrington's." 

Standing  with  her  back  toward  the  door,  the  pris 
oner  put  out  one  hand  with  a  repellent  gesture  : 

"I  have  surely  suffered  enough  from  General  Dar- 
rington  and  his  friends  ;  and  I  will  see  nobody  con 
nected  with  that  fatal  place,  which  has  been  a  curse  to 
me." 

"Just  as  you  please  ;  but  old  Auntie  here,  says  she 


144  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

nursed  your  mother,  and  on  that  account  wants  to 
see  you." 

Without  waiting  for  permission,  Dyce  darted  past 
the  warden's  wife,  into  the  room,  and  almost  before 
Beryl  was  aware  of  her  presence,  stood  beside  her. 

"  Are  you  Miss  Ellie's  daughter  ?" 

Listlessly  the  girl  turned  and  looked  at  her,  and 
Dyce  threw  her  arms  around  her  slender  waist,  and 
falling  on  her  knees  hid  her  face  in  Beryl's  dress,  sob 
bing  passionately.  In  the  violence  of  her  emotion,  she 
rocked  back  and  forth,  swaying  like  a  reed  in  some 
fierce  blast  the  tall  form,  to  whom  she  clung. 

' '  Oh,  my  lovely  !  my  lovely  !  To  think  you  should 
be  shut  up  here  !  To  see  Miss  Ellie's  baby  jailed, 
among  the  offscourings  of  the  earth  !  Oh,  you  beau 
tiful  white  deer  !  tracked  and  tore  to  pieces  by  wolves, 
and  hounds,  and  jackalls !  Oh,  honey !  Just  look 
straight  at  me,  like  you  was  facing  your  accusers  be 
fore  the  bar  of  God,  and  tell  me  you  didn't  kill  your 
grandpa.  Tell  me  you  never  dipped  your  pretty 
hands  in  ole  Marster's  blood." 

Tears  were  streaming  down  Dyce's  cheeks,  and  she 
shook  from  head  to  foot. 

"  If  you  knew  my  mother,  how  can  you  think  it 
possible  her  child  could  commit  an  awful  crime  ?" 

"  Oh,  God  knows— I  don't  know  what  to  think ! 
'Peers  to  me  the  world  is  turned  upside  down.  You 
see,  honey,  you  are  half  and  half;  and  while  I  am 
perfectly  shore  of  Miss  Ellie's  half  of  you,  'cause  I  can 
always  swear  to  our  side,  the  Darrington  in  you,  I 
can't  testify  about  your  pa's  side ;  he  was  a — a — " 

"  He  was  as  much  a  gentleman,  as  my  mother  was 
a  lady ;  and  I  would  rather  be  his  daughter,  than  call 
a  king  my  father." 

"I    believe  you  I     There  ain't  no  drop  of  scrub 


AT  THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  145 

blood  in  you,  as  I  can  see,  and  if  you  ain't  thorough 
bred,  'pearances  are  deceitful .  I  loved  your  ma ;  I 
loved  the  very  ground  her  little  feet  trod  on.  I  fed 
her  out  of  my  own  plate  many  a  time,  'cause  she 
thought  her  Mammy's  vittils  was  sweeter  than  what 
Mistiss  'lowed  her  to  have ;  and  she  have  slept  in  my 
bosom,  and  these  arms  have  carried  her,  and  hugged 
her,  and— and— oh,  Lord,  God  A'mighty  !  it  most  kills 
me  to  see  you,  her  own  little  baby  here  !  In  this 
awful,  cussed  den  of  thieves  and  villi-yans !  Oh, 
honey  !  for  God's  sake,  just  gin  me  some  'surance  you 
are  as  pure  as  you  look ;  just  tell  me  your  soul  is  a 
lily,  like  your  face." 

Beryl  stooped,  put  her  hand  on  the  turbaned  head, 
and  bending  it  back,  so  as  to  look  down  into  the 
swimming  eyes,  answered  : 

"  If  I  had  died  when  I  was  a  month  old,  my  baby 
soul  would  not  have  faced  God  any  more  innocent  of 
crime  then,  than  I  am  to-day.  I  had  no  more  to  do 
with  taking  General  Darrington's  money  and  his  life, 
than  the  archangels  in  Heaven." 

"  Bless  God  !  Now  I  am  satisfied.  Now  I  see  my 
way  clare.  But  it  sets  my  blood  afire  to  see  you  here ; 
it's  a  burning  shame  to  put  my  dear  young  Mistiss' 
child  in  this  beasts'  cage.  I  can't  help  thinking  of 
that  poor  beautiful  white  deer,  what  Marster  found 
crippled,  down  at  our  '  Bend '  Plantation,  that  some 
vagabond  had  shot.  Marster  fotch  it  up  home,  and 
of  all  the  pitifulist  sights  !" 

Dyce  had  risen,  and  covering  her  face  with  her 
white  apron,  she  wept  for  some  minutes. 

"  Are  you  not  the  wife  of  Bedney,  who  saved  my 
mother's  life,  when  the  barn  burned  ?" 

"  Yes,  honey,  I  am  Mam'  Dyce,  and  if  I  am  spared, 
J  will  try  to  save  your'n.  That  is  what  has  brung  me 


146  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

here.  You  are  'cused  of  the  robb'ry  and  the  murder, 
and  you  have  denied  it  in  the  court;  but  chile,  the 
lie-yevs  are  aworking  day  and  night  fur  to  hang  you, 
and  little  is  made  of  much,  on  your  side,  and  much  is 
spun  out  of  little,  on  theirn.  They  are  more  cunning 
than  foxes,  and  bloodthirstier  than  panters,  and  they 
no  more  git  tired  than  the  spiders,  that  spin  and  piece 
a  web  as  fast  as  you  break  it.  Three  nights  ago,  I  got 
down  on  my  knees,  and  I  kissed  a  little  pink  morocco 
slipper  what  your  Ma  wore  the  day  when  she  took 
her  first  step  from  my  arm  to  her  own  mother's  knees, 
and  I  swore  a  solemn  oath,  if  I  could  help  free  Miss 
Ellie's  child,  I  would  do  it.  Now  I  want  to  ask  you 
one  thing.  Did  you  lose  anything  that  day  you  come 
to  our  house,  and  had  the  talk  with  old  Marster  ?" 
"  Nothing,  but  my  peace  and  happiness." 
"  Are  you  shore  you  didn't  drap  your  hank'cher  ?" 
"  Yes,  I  am  sure  I  did  not,  because  I  wrapped  it 
around  some  chrysanthemums  I  gathered  as  I  went 
away." 

"Well,  a  lady's  hank'cher  was  found  in  Marster's 
room,  and  it  did  smell  of  chloryform.  Bedney  picked 
it  up,  and  we  said  nothing  and  laid  low,  and  hid  the 
thing;  but  that  God-forsaken  and  predestinated  sinner, 
Miss  Angeline,  kept  sarching  and  eaves-drapping,  and 
set  the  lie-yers  on  the  scent,  and  they  have  'strained 
Bedney  on  peril  of  jailing  him,  to  perduce  it.  When 
it  got  into  their  claws,  and  I  thought  it  might  belonk 
to  you,  my  teeth  chattered,  and  I  felt  like  the  back  of 
my  frock  was  a  ice- warehouse.  Now,  honey,  can  you 
testify  before  God  and  man,  that  hank'cher  ain't 
yourn?" 

"  I  certainly  can.  I  had  only  three  handkerchiefs 
with  me  when  I  left  home,  and  I  have  them  still. 
Here  is  one,  the  other  two  lie  yonder.  But  that 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  147 

handkerchief  is  worth  everything }  because  it  must 
belong  to  the  vile  wretch  who  committed  the  crime, 
and  it  will  help  to  prove  my  innocence.  Where  is  it  ?" 

"  The  Grand  Jury  is  setting  on  it." 

Here  Dyce  looked  cautiously  around,  and  tip-toed  to 
the  door;  finding  it  ajar,  closed  it,  then  stole  back. 
Putting  her  lips  close  to  Beryl's  ear,  she  whispered  : 

'  Did  you  lose  a  sleeve  button  ?" 

"No.     I  did  not  wear  any.3* 

"  Thank  God!  I  feel  like  all  the  bricks  in  the 
court-house  was  lifted  off  my  heart,  and  flung  away.  I 
was  in  fear  and  trimbling  about  that  button,  'cause  I 
picked  it  up,  just  under  the  aidge  of  the  rug,  where  ole 
Marster  fell,  when  he  got  his  death  blow ;  and  as  sure 
as  the  coming  of  the  Judgment  Day,  it  was  drapped 
by  the  pusson  who  killed  him.  I  was  so  afeared  it 
might  belonk  to  you,  that  I  have  been  on  the  anxious 
seat  ever  since  I  found  it ;  and  I  concluded  the  safest 
way  was  to  bring  it  here  to  you.  I  am  scared  to 
keep  it  at  home,  'cause  them  yelping  wolves  as  wears 
the  sheepskins  of  Justice,  are  on  my  tracks.  I  would 
never  give  it  up,  if  I  was  chopped  to  mince  meat;  but 
Bedney  ain't  got  no  more  than  enuff  backbone  for  half 
of  a  man,  and  the  lie-yers  discomfrizzle  him  so,  I  could 
not  trust  him,  when  it  comes  to  the  scratch.  Now 
that  button  is  worth  a  heap,  and  I  am  precious  care 
ful  of  it.  Look  here." 

She  took  from  her  pocket  two  large  pods  of  red 
pepper,  which  looked  exactly  alike,  but  the  end  of  one 
had  been  cut  out  around  the  stem,  then  neatly  fitted 
back,  and  held  in  place  by  some  colorless  cement. 
Beckoning  Beryl  to  follow,  Dyce  went  closer  to  the 
window,  and  with  the  aid  of  her  teeth  drew  out  the 
stem.  Into  her  palm  rolled  a  circular  button  of 
some  opaque  reddish-brown  substance,  resembling 


148  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

tortoise  shell,  and  enamelled  with  gilt  bunches  of 
grapes,  and  inlaid  leaves  of  mother-of-pearl.  Across 
the  top,  embossed  in  gilt  letters  ran  the  word 
"  Ricordo." 

The  old  woman  lifted  her  open  palm,  and  as  Beryl 
saw  the  button,  a  gasping,  gurgling  sound  broke 
from  her.  She  snatched  it,  stared  at  it.  Then  the 
Gorgon  head  slipped  through  her  fingers,  she  threw 
herself  against  the  window,  shook  the  iron  bar  frantic 
ally  ;  and  one  desperate  cry  seemed  to  tear  its  way 
through  her  clinched  teeth,  over  her  ashy  lips  : 

"  Oh,  Mother  !  Mother — Mother !  You  are  nailing 
me  to  a  cross." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

"XJOWHERE  in  the  vast  vista  of  literature  is  there 
•^  an  episode  more  exquisitely  pathetic  than  that 
serene  picture  of  the  Grove  at  Colonus,  sacred  to  the 
"Semnai  Theai;"  where  the  dewy  freshness,  the 
floral  loveliness,  the  spicery,  and  all  the  warbling 
witchery  of  nature  pay  tribute  to  the  Avenging  God 
desses. 

Twenty-two  centuries  have  sifted  their  dust  over 
the  immortal  figures  seated  on  the  marble  bench  within 
the  precincts  consecrated  to  the  Eumenides,  but  in 
deathless  tenacity,  the  rich  aroma  of  Sophocles' 
narcissus,  and  the  soft  crocus  light  linger  there  still ; 
while  from  thickets  of  olive,  nightingales  break  their 
hearts  in  song,  as  thrilling  as  the  melody  that  smote 
the  ears  of  doomed  and  dying  GEdipus. 

So  in  all  ages,  we,  born  thralls  of  grief,  lift 
streaming  eyes,  and  chant  elegies  to  stony-hearted 
Mother-Eaith,  but  her  starry  orbs  shine  on,  un- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  149 

dimmed  by  sympathetic  tears ;  her  smiling  lips  show 
only  sunshine  in  their  changeless  dimples,  and  her 
myriad  fingers  sweeping  the  keys  of  the  Universal 
Organ,  drown  our  De  Profundis  in  the  rhythmic 
thunders  of  her  Jubilate.  Wailing  children  of  Time, 
we  crouch  and  tug  at  the  moss- velvet,  daisy-sprinkled 
skirts  of  the  mighty  Mater,  praying  some  lullaby 
from  her  to  soothe  our  pain ;  but  human  woe  frets 
not  her  sublime  serenity,  as  deaf  as  desert  sphinx,  she 
fronts  the  future. 

Some  echo  of  this  maddening  mystery  sounded  in 
the  ears  of  the  lonely  woman,  who  clutched  the  bars 
of  her  dungeon,  and  stared  through  its  iron  lattice,  at 
the  peaceful,  happy,  outside  world.  At  her  feet  lay 

X ,  divided  by  the  silvery  river,  which  here  rushed 

with  arrowy  swiftness  under  the  gray  stone  arches  of 
the  bridge,  and  there  widened  into  glassy  lakelets,  as 
if  weary  from  the  mad  plunge  over  a  distant  rocky 
ledge  in  mid-stream,  whence  the  dull  steady  roar  of 
the  "Falls  "  thrilled  the  atmosphere,  like  the  "  tre 
molo  "  in  a  dim  cathedral,  where  fading  daylight 
dies  on  painted  apse  and  gilded  pipes.  As  a  chess 
board  the  squares  of  buildings  were  spread  out,  de 
fined  by  wide  streets,  where  humanity  and  its  traffic 
sped,  busy  as  ants.  In  a  green  plot,  the  sombre 
fagade  of  the  court-house  surmounted  by  an  eyeless 
stone  statue  of  Justice,  frowned  on  the  frivolous  throng 
below ;  and  along  the  verge  of  the  common,  marble 
fingers  pointed  up  to  the  heaven  of  blue  that  bent 
above  "  God's  Acre  ";  while  now  and  then,  bulbous 
towers,  and  glittering  steeple  vanes,  caught  the 
sunshine  on  their  polished  crests.  Beyond  the 
whole,  and  bounding  the  valley  filled  with  a  billowy 
sea  of  bluish-green  pine  tops,  rose  a  wooded  eminence, 
wearing  still  its  Persian  robe  of  autumn  foliage,  and 


150 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


on  its  brow  the  colonnade  and  chimneys  of  "Elm 
Bluff  "  blotted  the  southern  sky,  like  a  threatening 
phantom. 

To-day  forest,  stream,  earth  and  sky,  appeared 
branded  with  one  fatal  word,  as  if  the  world's  wide 
page  held  only  "  Ricordo  !  Ricordo  !" 

Beryl  shut  her  eyes  and  groaned ;  but  the  scene 
merely  shifted  to  a  dell  under  the  shadow  of  Car 
rara  hills,  where  olives  set  "  Ricordo"  among  their 
silver  leaves ;  and  lemons  painted  "  Ricordo "  in 
their  pale  gold ;  and  scarlet  pomegranates  and  nod 
ding  violets,  burning  anemones  and  tender  green 
of  trailing  maiden-hair  ferns  all  blazoned  "Ri 
cordo." 

The  fierce  tide  of  wrath,  that  indignation  and  her 
keen  sense  of  outraged  innocence  had  poured  like 
molten  lead  through  her  throbbing  arteries,  was  oozing 
sluggishly,  congealing  under  the  awful  spell  of  that 
one  word  "Ricordo."  Hitherto,  the  shame  of  the 
suspicion,  the  degradation  of  the  imprisonment  had 
caught  and  empaled  her  thoughts ;  but  by  degrees, 
these  became  dwarfed  by  the  growing  shadow  of  a 
possibly  ignominious  death,  which  spread  its  sable 
pinions  along  the  rosy  dawn  of  her  womanhood,  and 
devoured  the  glorious  sun  of  her  high  hopes.  The 
freezing  gloom  was  creeping  nearer,  and  to-day  she 
could  expect  no  succor,  save  by  one  avenue. 

Islam  believes  that  only  the  cimeter  edge  of  Al 
Sirat  divides  Paradise  from  perdition.  Beryl  real 
ized  that  in  her  peril,  she  trod  an  equally  narrow 
snare,  over  yawning  ruin,  holding  by  a  single  thread 
of  hope  that  handkerchief.  Weak  natures  shiver  and 
procrastinate,  shunning  confirmation  of  their  dread  ; 
but  to  this  woman  had  come  a  frantic  longing  to  see, 
to  grasp,  to  embrace  the  worst.  She  was  in  a  death 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  151 

grapple  with  appalling  fate,  and  that  handkerchief 
would  decide  the  issue. 

Physical  exhaustion  was  following  close  upon  the 
mental  agony  that  had  stretched  her  on  the  rack,  for 
so  many  days  and  nights.  To  sit  still  was  impossible, 
yet  in  her  wandering  up  and  down  the  narrow  room, 
she  reeled,  and  sometimes  staggered  against  the  wall, 
dizzy  from  weakness,  to  which  she  would  not  suc 
cumb. 

Human  help  was  no  more  possible  for  her,  than  for 
Moses,  when  he  climbed  Nebo  to  die ;  and  alone  with 
her  God,  the  brave  soul  wrestled.  Wearily  she  leaned 
against  the  window  bars,  twining  her  hot  fingers 
around  them,  pressing  her  forehead  to  the  cold  bar 
rier;  and  everywhere  "Kicordo"  stabbed  her  eyes 
like  glowing  steel. 

The  door  opened,  some  words  were  uttered  in  an 

mdertone,  then  the  bolt  clicked  in  its  socket,  and  Mr. 

0 unbar  approached  the  window.     Mechanically  Beryl 

glanced  over  her  shoulder,  and  a  shiver  crept  across 

her. 

"  I  believe  you  know  me.     Dunbar  is  my  name." 

He  stood  at  her  side,  and  they  looked  into  each 
other's  eyes,  and  measured  lances.  Could  this  worn, 
pallid  woman,  be  the  same  person  who  in  the  fresh 
vigor  of  her  youthful  beauty,  had  suggested  to  him  on 
the  steps  of  "  Elm  Bluff,"  an  image  of  Hygeia  ?  Here 
insouciante  girlhood  was  dead  as  Manetho's  dynas 
ties,  and  years  seemed  to  have  passed  over  this  auburn 
head  since  he  saw  it  last.  Human  faces  are  Nature's 
highest  type  of  etchings,  and  mental  anguish  bites 
deeper  than  Dutch  mordant ;  heart-ache  is  the  keen 
needle  that  traces  finest  lines. 

' '  Yes,  I  know  you  only  too  well.    You  are  Tiberius. ' ' 

Her  luminous  deep  eyes  held  his  at  bay,  and  despite 


152  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

his  habitual,    haughty  equipoise,  her  crisp  tone  of 
measureless  aversion  stung  him. 

"  Sarcasm  is  an  ill-selected  arbiter  between  you  and 
me ;  and  your  fate  for  all  time,  your  future  weal  or 
woe  is  rather  a  costly  shuttlecock  to  be  tossed  to  and 
fro  in  a  game  of  words.  I  do  not  come  to  bandy 
phrases,  and  in  view  of  your  imminent  peril,  I  cannot 
quite  understand  your  irony." 

"  Understand  me  ?  You  never  will.  Did  the  blood 
thirsty  soul  of  Tiberius  comprehend  the  stainless  inno 
cence  of  the  victims  he  crushed  for  pastime  on  the 
rocks  below  Villa  Jo  vis  ?  There  is  but  one  arbiter  for 
your  hatred,  the  hangman,  to  whom  you  would  so 
gladly  hurry  me.  Hunting  a  woman  to  the  gallows  is 
tit  sport  for  men  of  your  type." 

Unable  to  withdraw  his  gaze  from  the  magnetism  of 
hers,  he  frowned  and  bit  his  lip.  Was  she  feigning 
madness,  or  under  the  terrible  nervous  strain,  did  her 
mind  wander? 

"  Your  language  is  so  enigmatical,  that  I  am  forced 
to  conclude  you  resort  to  this  method  of  defence, 
The  exigencies  of  professional  duty  compel  me  to  as 
sume  toward  you  an  attitude,  as  painfully  embarrassing 
to  me  as  it  is  threatening  to  you.  Because  the  stern 
and  bitter  law  of  justice  sometimes  entails  keen  sor 
row  upon  those  who  are  forced  to  execute  her  decrees, 
is  it  any  less  obligatory  upon  the  appointed  officers  to 
obey  the  solemn  behests  ?" 

"  Justice  !  Into  what  a  frightful  mockery  have  such 
as  you  degraded  her  worship!  No  wonder  justice 
fled  to  the  stars.  You  are  the  appointed  officer  of  a 
harpy  screaming  for  the  blood  of  the  innocent.  How 
dare  you  commit  your  crimes,  raise  your  red  hands,  in 
the  sacred  name  of  justice  ?  Call  yourself  the  priest 
of  a  frantic  vengeance,  for  whom  some  victim  must 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS  153 

be  provided ;  and  libel  no  more  the  attribute  of  Jeho 
vah." 

Scorn  curled  her  lips,  and  beneath  her  glowing-  eyes, 
his  grew  restless,  as  panoplied  in  conscious  innocence 
she  seemed  to  defy  attack. 

1  *  You  evidently  credit  me  with  motives  of  personal 
animosity,  which  would  alike  disgrace  my  profession 
and  my  manhood.  For  your  sake,  rather  than  my 
own,  I  should  like  to  remove  this  erroneous  impression 
from  your  mind.  If  you  could  only  understand — " 

She  threw  up  her  hand,  with  an  imperious  gesture 
of  disdain. 

'  *  Save  your  sophistries ;  they  are  wasted  here. 
Why  multiply  cobwebs  ?  I  understand  you.  If  doves 
have  a  sixth  sense  that  warns  them  before  they  hear 
the  hawk's  cry,  or  discern  the  shadow  of  his  circling 
wings,  and  if  mice,  dumb  in  a  cat's  claws,  surmise  the 
exact  value  of  the  preliminary  caresses,  the  graceful 
antics,  the  fatal  fondling  of  the  velvet  paw,  so  we,  the 
prey  of  legal  *  Justice'  know  instinctively  what  the 
swinging  of  censers,  and  the  chanting  of  her  high 
priest  mean,  when  he  draws  near  us.  I  understand 
you.  You  intend  to  hang  me  if  you  can." 

He  drew  his  breath  with  a  hissing  sound,  and  a 
dark  flush  stained  his  broad  smooth  brow. 

"  On  my  honor  as  a  gentleman,  I  came  here  to-day 
solely  to — " 

"  Solely  to  assure  yourself  of  some  doubtful  link  you 
must  weld  into  your  chain  ;  solely  to  plunge  the  scalpel 
of  some  double-edged  question.  If  there  must  be  an 
ante  mortem  examination,  we  will  wait,  if  you  please, 
for  the  legal  dissection  when  I  am  stretched  before  the 
jury-box.  Until  then,  you  have  no  right  to  intrude 
upon  the  misery  you  have  brought  on  an  innocent 


154  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

They  stood  so  near  each  other,  that  he  could  count 
the  fierce  throbbing-  of  the  artery  in  her  round  snowy 
throat,  and  see  the  shadow  of  her  long-  lashes ;  and 
agcain  some  electric  current  flashed  from  her  feverishly 
bright  eyes,  burning  its  way  to  the  secret  chambers  of 
his  selfish  heart,  melting  the  dross  that  ambition  and 
greed  had  slowly  cemented,  and  dropping  one  death 
less  spark  into  a  deep  adytum,  of  the  existence 
of  which  he  had  never  even  dreamed.  Uncon 
sciously  he  leaned  toward  her,  but  she  pressed  back 
against  the  iron  bars,  and  drew  her  dress  aside  as  ii 
shunning  a  leper.  There  was  no  petulance  in  the 
motion,  but  its  significance  pricked  him,  like  a  dagger 
point. 

"  It  was  the  hope  of  finding- you  an  innocent  woman, 
that  must  plead  my  pardon  for  what  you  consider  an 
unwarrantable  'intrusion'.  Will  you  believe  me,  if  I 
swear  to  you,  that  I  have  come  as  a  friend?" 

"  As  a  friend  to  me  ?  No.  As  a  friend  to  General 
Darrington  and  his  adopted  son  Prince  ?  Yes.  Oh, 
Tiberius  !  Your  rosy  apples  are  flavored  like  those 
your  forefather  offered  Agrippina." 

' '  Do  you  regard  me  as  an  unscrupulous,  calculating 
villain,  who  pretending  kindness,  plots  treachery?  Do 
you  deliberately  offer  me  this  wanton  insult?" 

His  swart  face  reddened,  and  the  fine  lines  of  his 
handsome  mouth  hardened. 

She  shrank  a  few  inches  closer  to  the  window,  and 
compressed  her  lips. 

"  If  you  were  a  man,  I  should  swiftly  resent  the  af 
front  you  have  thrust  upon  me,  and  suitable  redress 
would  be  peculiarly  sweet  and  welcome ;  but  you  are 
a  defenceless  and  unfortunate  woman,  and  my  hands 
are  tied.  I  desire  to  help  you  ;  you  repulse  me  and  in 
sult  my  manhood.  I  will  do  my  painful  duty,  because 


AT   THE   MERCY   OF   TIBERIUS.  155 

it  is  sternly  and  inexorably  my  duty ;  but,  I  wish  to 
God,  I  had  never  set  my  eyes  on  you." 

The  sudden  passionate  ring  in  his  voice  surprised 
her,  and  she  looked  searchingly  at  him,  wondering  into 
what  pitfall  it  was  intended  to  lure  her. 

"  If  you  had  never  set  your  eyes  on  me  ?  Ah,  would 
to  God  !  I  had  died  ten  thousand  times  before  I  encount 
ered  their  evil  spell !  If  you  had  never  set  your  eyes 
on  me  ?  I  should  be  now,  a  happy,  hopeful  girl,  with 
life  beckoning  me  like  the  rosy  Syrian  plains  that  smiled 
on  the  desert- weary.  The  world  looked  so  bright  to  me 
that  day,  when  first  I  smelled  the  sweet  resinous  pines, 
and  dreamed  of  my  work,  and  all  the  glory  of  the  vic 
tory,  I  knew  that  I  should  win  over  poverty  and  want. 
I  was  so  poor  in  worldly  goods,  but  oh  ! — Croesus  could 
not  have  bought  my  proud  hopes  !  So  rich,  so  over 
flowing  with  high  hope  !  As  I  think  of  my  feelings 
that  day,  among  the  primroses  and  pine  cones,  it  seems 
a  hundred  years  ago,  and  I  recall  the  image  of  a  girl 
long  dead  ;  such  a  proud  girl ;  so  happy  in  the  beauti 
ful  world  of  the  art  she  loved !  Then  some  strange 
awful  curse  that  had  lain  in  wait,  ambushed 
among  the  flowers  I  gathered  that  last  day  of  my 
dead  existence,  fell  upon  me — I  saw  you  !  No  wonder 
I  shivered,  when  you  met  me.  I  saw  you.  Then  my 
sun  sickened  and  went  out,  and  my  hopes  crumbled, 
and  my  youth  shrivelled  and  perished  forever ;  and 
the  wide  world  is  a  rayless  dungeon,  and  the  girl  Beryl 
is  buried  so  deep,  that  the  Angels  of  the  Resurrection 
will  never  find  her ! — and  I? — I  am  only  a  withered, 
disgraced  woman,  hurled  into  a  den;  trampled,  brand 
ed  ;  with  a  soul  devoured  by  despairing  bitterness, 
with  a  broken  heart,  a  brain  on  fire !  If  you  had 
drawn  a  knife  across  my  throat,  or  sent  a  bullet 
through  my  temples,  my  spirit  might  have  met  yours 


156  AT  THE  MEROY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

in  the  Beyond,  and  I  could  have  forgiven  that  which 
hastened  me  to  heaven ;  but  you  strangled  my  hopes, 
and  mutilated  my  youth,  and  dishonored  my  father's 
name  ! — You  robbed  me  of  iny  stainless  character, 
and  cast  me  among  outlaws  and  fiends  ! — Worse  yet, 
oh !  blackest  of  all  your  crimes  ! — you  have  almost 
throttled  my  faith  in  Christ.  You  have  torn  away 
my  hold  upon  the  eternal  God  !  You  are  the  curse  ol 
my  life.  You  wish  you  had  never  set  your  eyes  on  me  ? 
Take  courage,  finish  your  work ;  the  best  of  me  is  ut 
terly  dead  already,  and  when  you  have  taken  my  blood, 
and  laid  my  polluted  body  in  a  convict's  shallow  grave, 
your  enmity  will  be  satiated.  Then  I,  at  least,  I  shall 
be  free  from  my  hideous  curse.  If  there  be  any  com 
fort  left  for  me,  it  lurks  in  the  knowledge  that  when 
you  succeed  in  convicting  me,  the  same  world  will  no 
longer  hold  us  both." 

Was  it  the  fever  of  disease,  or  incipient  madness 
that  blazed  in  her  eyes,  flamed  on  her  cheeks,  and  lent 
such  thrilling  cadence  to  her  pure  clear  voice  ?  Was 
she  a  consummate  actress,  or  had  he  made  a  frightful 
mistake,  and  goaded  an  innocent  girl  to  the  verge 
of  frenzy  ?  Some  occult  influence  seemed  clouding  his 
hitherto  infallible  perceptions,  melting  his  heart,  para 
lyzing  his  will.  He  walked  up  and  down  the  floor,  with 
his  hands  clasped  behind  him,  then  came  close  to  the 
prisoner. 

"If  I  have  unjustly  suspected  and  persecuted  you,  may 
God  forgive  me  !  If  I  have  wronged  you  by  suspicion 
and  accusation  of  a  crime  which  you  did  not  commit, 
then  my  atonement  shall  be  your  triumphant  vindica 
tion.  I  would  give  a  good  deal  to  know  that  your  hands 
are  as  pure  as  they  look,  and  innocent  of  theft  and  mur 
der.  Tell  me — tell  me  the  truth.  I  will  save  you,  I  will 
give  you  back  all  that  you  have  lost,  and  tenfold  more. 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  157 

For  God's  sake,  for  your  own  sake,  and  for  mine,  I  en 
treat  you  to  tell  me  the  truth.  Did  you  go  back  to 
*  Elm  Bluff*  that  night,  after  I  met  you  in  the  pino 
woods?" 

His  dark  face  was  close  to  hers,  and  his  keen  blue 
eyes  seemed  to  probe  the  recesses  of  her  soul.  If  she 
answered,  would  the  steel  springs  of  some  trap  close 
upon  her? 

"  I  did  not  go  back  to  '  Elm  Bluff'.  My  hands,  my 
heart,  my  soul  are  as  free  from  crime  as  they  were 
when  God  sent  them  into  the  world.  I  am  innocent — 
innocent — innocent  as  any  baby  only  a  week  old,  lying 
dead  in  its  little  coffin.  Innocent — but  defiled,  dis 
graced  ;  innocent  as  the  Lord  Jesus  was  of  the  sins  for 
which  He  died  ;  but  you  can  not  save  what  you  have 
destroyed.  You  have  ruined  my  life." 

He  was  a  strong  man,  cold,  collected,  priding  him 
self  upon  his  superb  physique,  his  nerves  of  steel ;  but 
as  he  watched  and  listened,  he  trembled,  and  the 
girl's  eyes  dilated  sparkled  through  the  sudden  mois* 
ture  that  so  strangely  and  unexpectedly  gathered  in 
his  own. 

"  Then  you  must  prove  the  truth  of  your  solemn 
words  ;  and  it  was  this  faint  hope  that  induced  me  to 
come  here  to-day.  Only  one  circumstance  stands 
between  the  Grand  Jury  and  your  indictment  for 
murder  ;  and  time  presses.  Now  tell  me,  do  you  know 
this?" 

He  took  from  his  coat  pocket  a  small  parcel  wrapped 
in  paper,  and  tore  off  the  covering.  Beryl  stood  faint 
and  dizzy,  resting  against  the  window,  but  erect,  on 
guard  and  defiant.  He  shook  out  and  held  up  a 
square  of  fine  linen,  daintily  hem-stitched.  Along  the 
border  ran  graceful  arabesques,  swelling  into  scallops 
and  dotted  with  stars,  embroidered  in  some  rich  red 


158 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


thread ;  and  in  one  corner,  enclosed  in  a  wreath  of 
exquisitely  designed  fuchsias,  the  large,  elaborately 
ornate  capitals  "  B.  B."  were  worked  in  fadeless 
scarlet  scrolls  to  match  the  wreath.  Above  the 
drooping  flowers,  poised  the  red  wings  of  a  descending 
butterfly.  Artistic  instincts  had  outlined,  and  deft 
delicate  touches  filled  in,  with  the  glowing  embroidery. 

Did  she  know  it  ?  Could  she  ever  forget  that  serene 
May  day  when  the  air  was  liquid  gold,  and  the  Medi 
terranean  molten  sapphire,  wreathed  with  pearls,  as 
the  wavelets  crested;  when  the  r"osy  oleanders  and 
silvery  flakes  of  orange  blossoms  floated  down  upon 
the  ferny  cliff,  where  sitting  by  her  father's  side,  she 
had  drawn  this  design,  spreading  the  linen  on  the  back 
of  her  father's  worn  copy  of  Theocritus  ?  If  she  lived 
a  thousand  years,  would  it  be  possible  to  forget  the 
thin,  almost  transparent  white  hand,  with  its  blue 
veins  swollen  like  cords,  which  had  gently  taken  the 
pencil  from  her  fingers,  and  retouched  and  rounded  the 
sweep  of  the  curves ;  the  dear  wasted  hand  that  she 
had  stooped  and  kissed,  as  it  corrected  her  work  ? 

As  on  the  golden  background  of  a  cherished  Byzan 
tine  picture,  memory  held  untarnished  every  tint 
and  outline  of  that  blessed  day,  when  she  and  her 
father  had  looked  for  the  last  time  on  the  sunny  sea 
they  loved  so  well. 

Did  fell  fate  hover,  even  then,  in  that  sparkling 
perfumed  air,  and  in  sinister  prescience  trace  this 
tangling  web  of  threads,  with  grim  intent  to  snare  her 
unwary  feet  ? 

Savants  tell  us,  that  ages  ago,  in  the  dim  dawn, 
primeval  rain  drops  made  their  pattering  print,  and 
left  it  to  harden  on  the  stone  pages,  awaiting  deciph 
erment  by  human  eyes  and  human  brains,  not  yet 

"  Born  of  the  brainless  Nature,  who  knew  not  that  which  she  bore." 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  159 

Is  there  an  analogous  iron  chain  linking  the  merest 
trifles,  the  frivolous  accidents,  the  apparently  worth 
less  coincidences  that  swell  the  sum  of  what  we  are 
pleased  to  call  the  nobly  independent  life  of  the  ' l  free- 
agent  "  Man  ?  In  the  matrix  of  time,  do  human  tears 
and  human  blood-drops  leave  their  record,  to  be  conned 
when  Nemesis  holds  her  last  assize  ? 

As  the  handkerchief  swayed  in  the  lawyer's  grasp, 
Beryl  saw  the  red  "B.  B."  like  a  bloody  brand.  At  that 
instant  she  felt  that  the  death  clutch  fastened  upon 
her  throat ;  that  fate  had  cast  her  adrift,  on  the  black 
waves  of  despair.  In  her  reeling  brain  kaleidoscopic 
images  danced  ;  her  father's  face,  the  lateen  sail  of 
fishing  boats  rocking  on  blue  billows,  white  oxen 
browsing  amid  purple  iris  clusters  ;  she  heard  her 
mother's  voice,  her  brother's  gay  laugh  ;  she  smelled 
the  prussic  acid  fragrance  of  the  vivid  oleanders,  then 
over  all,  like  tongues  of  devouring  flame,  flickered 
"Ricordo."  "B.  B." 

In  the  frenzy  of  her  desperation  she  sprang  forward, 
seized  the  arms  that  held  up  the  fatal  handkerchief, 
and  shook  the  man,  as  if  he  had  been  an  infant.  Her 
eyes  full  of  horror,  were  fixed  on  the  scrap  of  linen, 
and  a  frantic  cry  rang  from  her  lips. 

' '  Father  !  Father  !  There  is  no  hereafter  for  you 
and  me  !  Prayer  is  but  the  mockery  of  fools  !  There 
is  no  heaven  for  the  pure,  because  there  is  no  God  ! 
No  God  ! — to  hear,  to  save  the  innocent  who  trusted  in 
Him.  Oh— no  God  !" 

Mr.  Dunbar  dropped  the  handkerchief,  and  as  the 
irresistible  conviction  of  her  guilt  rolled  back,  crush 
ing  the  hope  he  had  cherished  a  moment  before,  a 
spasm  of  pain  seized  his  heart,  and  with  a  groan  that 
would  not  be  repressed,  he  covered  his  eyes  to  shut 
out  the  vision  of  the  despairing  woman,  whose  doom 


160  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

seemed  sealed.  Her  right  hand  which  unconsciously 
clutched  his  left  shoulder,  shivered  like  an  aspen,  and 
he  knew  that  for  the  moment  she  was  entirely  oblivi 
ous  of  his  presence;  blind  to  everything  but  the  assur 
ance  of  her  ruin. 

After  all,  he  had  made  no  mistake  ;  his  keen  insight 
was  well  nigh  infallible ;  but  his  triumph  was  costly. 
The  luscious  fruit  of  professional  success  left  an  acrid 
flavor ;  the  pungent  dead  sea  ashes  sifted  freely.  He 
set  his  heel  on  the  embroidered  butterfly,  and  in  his 
heart  cursed  the  hour  he  had  first  seen  it.  His  coveted 
bread  was  petrifying  between  his  teeth. 

The  grasp  on  his  shoulder  relaxed,  the  hand  fell 
heavily.  When  he  looked  in  the  face  of  his  victim,  he 
caught  his  breath  at  the  strange,  inexplicable  change 
a  few  minutes  had  wrought.  Protest  and  resistance 
had  come  to  an  end.  Surrender  was  printed  on  every 
feature.  The  wild  fury  of  the  passionate  struggle 
that  convulsed  her,  had  spent  itself ;  and  as  after  a 
violent  wintry  tempest  the  gale  subsides,  and  the  snow 
compassionately  shrouds  the  scene,  burying  the  dead 
sparrows,  the  bruised  flowers,  so  submission  laid  her 
cold  touch  on  this  quivering  face,  and  veiled  and  froze  it. 

From  afar  the  sound  of  rushing  waters  seemed  to 
smite  Beryl's  ears,  to  surge  nearer,  to  overflow  her 
brain.  She  sank  suddenly  to  the  floor,  clinging  with 
one  hand  to  the  window  bar,  and  her  auburn  head  fell 
forward  on  the  uplifted  arm.  Thinking  that  she  had 
fainted,  Mr.  Dunbar  stooped  and  raised  her  face, 
holding  it  in  his  palms.  The  eyes  met  his,  unflinching 
but  mournful  as  those  of  a  tormented  deer  whom  the 
hunters  drag  from  worrying  hounds.  She  writhed, 
freed  herself  from  his  touch ;  and  resting  against  th? 
window  sill,  drew  a  long  deep  breath. 

"  You  have  succeeded  in  your  mission  to-day.     You 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  161 

have  the  only  clue  you  needed.  You  have  no  occasion 
to  linger.  Now — will  you  leave  me  ?" 

He  picked  up  the  handkerchief. 

"  This  is  your  handkerchief?" 

She  made  no  answer.  A  leaden  hand  was  pressing 
upon  her  heart,  her  brain,  her  aching  eyes. 

"  You  have  basely  deceived  me.  You  did  go  back 
that  night,  and  you  left  this,  to  betray  you.  Satu 
rated  with  chloroform  you  laid  it  over  your  grand 
father's  face.  Load  your  soul  with  no  more  false 
hoods.  Confess  the  deeds  of  that  awful  night." 

"  I  did  not  go  back.  I  never  saw  *  Elm  Bluff  '  after 
I  met  you.  I  know  no  more  of  the  chloroform  than 
you  do.  I  have  told  the  truth  first,  and  last,  and 
always.  I  have  no  confession  to  make.  I  am  as  in 
nocent  as  you  are.  Innocent !  Innocent !  You  are 
going  to  hang  me  for  a  crime  I  did  not  commit.  When 
you  do,  you  will  murder  an  innocent  woman." 

She  spoke  slowly,  solemnly,  and  at  intervals,  as  if 
she  found  it  difficult  to  express  her  meaning.  Tho 
passionless  tone  was  that  of  one,  standing  where  the 
river  of  death  flowed  close  to  her  feet,  and  her  beauti 
ful  face  shone  with  the  transfiguring  light  of  conscious 
purity. 

"  Hold  up  your  hand,  and  tell  me  this  is  not  your 
handkerchief ;  and  I  will  yet  save  you." 

"  It  was  my  handkerchief,  but  I  am  innocent.  Finish 
your  work." 

"  How  can  you  expect  me  to  believe  your  contradic 
tory  statements  ?" 

Wearily  she  turned  her  head,  and  looked  at  him.  A 
strange  drowsiness  dimmed  her  vision,  thickened  her 
speech. 

"I  expect  nothing  from  you — but — death." 

"  Will  you  explain  how  your  handkerchief  chanced 


162  AT  THE  MEROY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

to  be  found  on  your  grandfather's  pillow  ?    Trust  me, 
I  am  trying  to  believe  you.     Tell  me." 

In  his  eagerness  he  seized  her  hand,  clasped  it  tightly, 
bent  over  her.  She  made  no  reply,  and  the  silky  black 
lashes  sank  lower,  lower  till  they  touched  the  violet 
circle  suffering  had  worn  under  her  eyes.  Like  a  lily 
too  heavy  for  its  stem,  the  glossy  head  fell  upon  her 
breast.  Her  hot  fingers  throbbed  in  his  palm,  and 
when  he  felt  her  pulse,  the  rapid  bounding  tide  defied 
his  counting.  Kneeling  beside  her,  he  laid  the  head 
against  his  shoulder. 

"  Are  you  ill  ?    What  is  the  matter  ?   Speak  to  me." 
Her  parched  lips  unclosed,  and  she  muttered  with  a 
sigh,  like  a  child  falling  asleep  after  long  sobbing  : 
"  My  handkerchief — Tiberius — my — han — " 
She  had  fought  against  fearful  odds,  with  sleepless 
nights  and  fasting  days  sapping  her  strength  ;  and 
when  the  battle  ended,  though  the  will  was  unfalter 
ing,  physical  exhaustion  triumphed,  and  delirium  mer 
cifully  took  the  tortured  spirit  into  her  cradling  arms. 


CHAPTER  X. 

X  1 7"  HEN  Leo  Gordon  celebrated  her  twenty-second 
*  *  birthday,  Judge  Dent,  appreciating  the  import 
ance  of  familiarizing  her  with  the  business  details  and 
technicalities  of  commercial  usage,  incident  to  the  man 
agement  of  her  large  estate,had  insisted  upon  terminat 
ing  his  guardianship,  and  transferring  to  her  all  respon 
sibility  for  the  future  conduct  of  her  financial  affairs. 
New  books  were  placed  in  her  hands,  in  which  he  re 
quired  her  to  keep  systematically  and  legibly  all  her 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  163 

accounts  ;  she  drew  and  signed  her  own  checks,  and 
semi-annually  furnished  for  his  inspection  a  neat  bal 
ance-sheet. 

As  adviser,  and  agent  for  the  collection  of  dividends 
and  rents,  the  change  or  renewal  of  investments,  he 
maintained  only  a  general  supervision,  and  left  her 
untrammelled  the  use  of  her  income.  As  a  dangerous 
innovation  upon  time-honored  customs,  which  under 
the  ante  bellum  regime,  had  kept  Southern  women  as 
ignorant  of  practical  business  routine,  as  of  the  origin 
of  the  Weddas  of  Ceylon,  Miss  Patty  bitterly  opposed 
and  lamented  her  brother's  decision ;  dismally  predict 
ing  that  the  result  must  inevitably  be  the  transfor 
mation  of  their  refined,  delicate,  clinging  "  Southern 
lady",  into  that  abhorred  monster—"  a  strong-minded 
independent  business  woman". 

Intensely  loyal  to  the  social  standard,  usages  ana 
traditions  of  an  aristocracy,  that  throughout  the  South 
had  guarded  its  patrician  ranks  with  almost  Brahmin 
jealousy,  she  sternly  decried  every  infringement  of 
caste  custom  and  etiquette.  Nature  and  education  had 
combined  to  deprive  her  of  any  adaptability  to  the  new 
order  of  things ;  and  she  rejected  the  idea  that  "  a  lady 
should  transact  business",  with  the  same  contemptu 
ous  indignation  that  would  have  greeted  a  proposition 
to  wear  "machine-sewed  garments",  that  last  resort 
of  impecunious  plebeianism.  However  unwelcome  Leo 
had  found  this  assumption  of  the  grave  duties  of  mature 
womanhood,  she  met  the  responsibility  unflinchingly, 
and  gathered  very  firmly  the  reins  transferred  to  her  fair 
hands  for  guidance.  Judge  Dent  and  Miss  Patty  were 
the  last  of  their  family,  except  the  orphan  niece  who  had 
been  left  to  their  care,  and  as  their  earthly  possessions 
would  ultimately  descend  to  her,  she  had  been  reared 
in  the  conviction  that  their  house  was  her  only  home. 


164  AT   THE   MERCY  OF  TJ^ERIUS. 

Study  and  travel,  potent  factors  in  the  march  of 
progress,  had  so  enlarged  the  periphery  of  Leo's  intel 
lectual  vision,  that  she  frequently  startled  her  prim 
aunt,  by  the  enunciation  of  views  much  too  extended 
and  cosmopolitan  to  fit  that  haughty  dame's  Procrus 
tean  limits  of  "  Southern  ladyhood".  Blessed  with  a 
discriminating  governess  and  chaperon,  who  while 
fostering  a  genuine  love  of  the  beautiful,  had  endeav 
ored  to  guard  her  pupil  from  straying  into  any  of  those 
fashionable  "art  crazes",  which  in  their  ephemeral 
exaggeration  approach  caricatures  of  asstheticism, 
Leo  became  deeply  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  classic 
literature  and  art;  and  grew  especially  fond  of  the 
study  of  Greek  and  Roman  architecture. 

Believing  that  the  similarity  of  climate  in  her  native 
State,  justified  the  revival  of  an  archaic  style  of  build 
ing,  she  ardently  desired  and  finally  obtained  her 
uncle's  consent  to  the  erection  (as  an  addition  to  the 
Dent  mansion),  of  a  suite  of  rooms,  designed  in  accord 
ance  with  her  taste,  and  for  her  own  occupancy. 
Hampered  by  no  prudential  economic  considerations, 
and  fearless  of  criticism  as  regarded  archaeological 
anachronisms,  Leo  allowed  herself  a  wide-eyed  eclecti 
cism,  that  resulted  in  a  thoroughly  composite  structure, 
eminently  satisfactory  at  least  to  its  fastidious  owner. 
A  single  story  in  height,  it  contained  only  four  rooms, 
and  on  a  reduced  scale  resembled  the  typical  house  of 
Pansa,  except  that  the  flat  roof  rose  in  the  centre  to  a 
dome.  Constituting  a  western  wing  of  the  old  brick 
mansion  which  it  adjoined,  the  entrance  fronting 
north,  opened  from  a  portico  with  clustered  columns, 
into  a  square  vestibule ;  which  led  directly  to  a  large, 
octagonal  atrium,  surrounded  by  lofty  fluted  pillars 
with  foliated  capitals  that  supported  the  arched  and 
frescoed  ceiling.  In  the  centre,  a  circular  impluvium 


AT  THE   MERCY  OP  TIBERIUa  165 

was  sunk  in  the  marble  paved  floor,  where  in  summer  a 
jet  of  spray  sprang1  from  the  water  on  whose  surface 
lily  pads  floated  ;  and  in  winter,  shelves  were  inserted, 
which  held  blooming  pot  plants,  that  were  arranged 
in  the  form  of  a  pyramid.  The  dome  overarching  this, 
was  divided  into  three  sections  ;  the  lower  frescoed,  the 
one  above  it  filled  with  Etruscan  designs  in  stained 
glass ;  the  upper,  formed  of  white  ground  glass 
sprinkled  with  gilt  stars  representing  constellations, 
was  so  constructed,  that  it  could  be  opened  outward  in 
panels,  and  thus  admit  the  fresh  air. 

On  the  east  side  of  this  atrium,  Leo's  bed-room  con 
nected  with  that  occupied  by  Miss  Patty  in  the  old 
house ;  and  opposite,  on  the  west,  was  a  large  square 
Pompeian  library,  with  dark  red  dado,  daintily  fres 
coed  panels,  and  richly  tinted  glowing  frieze.  At  the 
end  of  this  apartment,  and  concealed  by  purple  velvet 
curtains  lined  with  rose  silk,  an  arch  opened  into  a 
small  semi-circular  chapel  or  oratory,  lighted  by 
stained  glass  windows,  whose  brilliant  hues  fell  on  a 
marble  altar  upheld  by  two  kneeling  figures  ;  and  here 
lay  the  family  Bible  of  Leo's  great-grandfather,  Dun 
can  Gordon,  with  tall  bronze  candelabra  on  each  side, 
holding  wax  candles.  At  the  right  of  two  marble 
steps  that  led  to  the  altar,  was  spread  a  rug,  and  upon 
this  stood  an  ebony  reading-desk  where  a  prayer-book 
rested.  Filling  a  niche  in  the  wall  on  the  left  side,  the 
gilded  pipes  of  an  organ  rose  to  meet  a  marble  console 
that  supported  a  Greek  cross. 

In  order  to  secure  an  unobstructed  vista  from  the 
front  door,  that  portion  of  the  building  which  corre 
sponded  to  the  ancient  tablinum,  was  used  merely  as 
an  aviary,  where  handsome  brass  cages  of  various 
shapes  showed  through  their  burnished  wires  snowy 
cockatoos,  gaudy  paroquets,  green  and  gold  canaries, 


166  AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

flaming  red  and  vivid  blue  birds,  and  one  huge  white 
owl,  whose  favorite  perch  when  allowed  his  freedom, 
was  a  bronze  Pallas  on  a  projecting  bracket. 

Conspicuous  among  these,  was  a  peculiar  cage  made 
of  tortoise  shell,  ivory  and  silver  wire,  which  Leo  had 
assigned  to  a  scarlet-crested,  crimson-throated  Aus 
tralian  cockatoo.  Beyond  this  undraped  rear  vestr 
bule  stretched  the  peristyle,  a  parallelogram,  sur 
rounded  by  a  lofty  colonnade.  The  centre  of  this 
space  was  adorned  by  a  rockery  whence  a  fountain 
rose  ;  flower  beds  of  brilliant  annuals  and  coleus  en 
circled  it  like  a  mosaic,  and  the  ground  was  studded 
with  orange  and  lemon  trees,  banana  and  pineapple 
plants ;  while  at  the  farther  side  delicate  exotic  grape 
vines  were  trained  from  column  to  column. 

In  summer  this  beautiful  court  was  entirely  open  to 
the  sky,  but  at  the  approach  of  winter  a  movable 
framework  of  iron  pillars  was  erected,  which  supported 
a  glass  roof,  that  sloped  southward,  and  garnered 
heat  and  sunshine.  Neither  chimneys  nor  fire-places 
were  visible,  but  a  hidden  furnace  thoroughly  warmed 
the  entire  house,  and  in  each  apartment  the  registers 
represented  braziers  of  classic  design. 

Except  for  the  external  entrances,  doors  had  been 
abolished;  portieres  of  plush,  satin,  and  Oriental 
silk  closed  all  openings  in  winter;  and  during  long 
sultry  Southern  summers  were  replaced  by  draperies  of 
lace,  and  wicker-work  screens  where  growing  ivy  and 
smilax  trained  their  cool  green  leaves,  and  graceful 
tendrils.  Wooden  floors  had  accompanied  the  doors 
to  Coventry ;  and  everywhere  squares  of  marble,  and 
lemon  and  blue  tiles  showed  shimmering  surfaces 
between  the  costly  rugs,  and  fur  robes  scattered  lav 
ishly  about  the  rooms.  Surrounded  by  a  gilded  wreath 
of  olive  leaves,  and  incised  on  an  architrave  fronting 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  167 

the  vestibule,  the  golden  "Salve"  greeted  visitors ; 
just  beneath  it,  on  an  antique  shaped  table  of  topaz- 
veined  onyx,  stood  a  Vulci  black  bowl  or  vase,  deco 
rated  in  vermilion  with  Bacchanal  figures ;  and  this 
Leo  filled  in  summer  with  creamy  roses,  in  winter, 
with  camellias.  Where  the  shrines  and  Lares  stood  in 
ancient  houses,  a  square,  burnished  copper  pedestal 
fashioned  like  an  altar  had  been  placed,  and  upon  it 
rose  from  a  bed  of  carved  lilies,  a  copy  in  white  marblo 
of  Palmer's  "  Faith". 

From  the  front  portico,  one  could  look  through  the 
vestibule,  the  atrium,  the  aviary,  and  on  into  the  peri 
style,  where  among  vine  branches  and  lemon  boughs, 
the  vista  was  closed  by  a  flight  of  stone  steps 
with  carved  cedar  balustrade,  leading  up  to  the  fiat 
roof,  where  it  sometimes  pleased  the  mistress  to  take 
her  tea,  or  watch  the  sunset.  In  selecting  and  order 
ing  designs  for  the  furniture,  a  strict  adherence  to 
archaic  types  had  been  observed  ;  hence  the  couches, 
divans,  chairs,  and  tables,  the  pottery  and  bric-a-brac, 
the  mirrors  and  draperies,  were  severely  classic. 

An  expensive  whim  certainly,  far  exceeding  the 
original  estimate  of  its  cost ;  and  Miss  Patty  be 
wailed  the  "  wicked  extravagance  of  squandering 
money  that  would  have  built  a  handsome  church,  and 
supported  for  life  two  missionaries  in  mid-China"  ;  but. 
Judge  Dent  encouraged  and  approved,  reviving  hi, 5 
classical  studies  to  facilitate  the  successful  accomplish 
ment  of  the  scheme.  When  the  structure  was  com 
pleted  and  Leo  declared  herself  perfectly  satisfied  with 
the  result,  it  was  her  uncle  who  had  proposed  to  cele 
brate  her  twenty-fourth  birthday  by  a  mask-ball  in 
which  every  costume  should  be  classic,  distinctively 
Roman  or  Greek  ;  and  where  the  wnlxum  dispensed  to 
the  guests  should  be  mixed  in  a  genuine  Cratera. 


168  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

To  this  brilliant  fet e,  one  cloudless  June  night,friends 
from  distant  States  were  invited  ;  and  fragrant  with  the 
breath  of  its  glowing-  roses,  the  occasion  became 
memorable,  embalmed  forever  in  Leo's  happy  heart, 
because  then  and  there,  beside  the  fountain  in  the 
peristyle,  she  had  pledged  her  hand  and  faith  to  Mr. 
Dunbar. 

Sitting  to-day  in  front  of  the  library  window,  whence 
she  had  looped  back  the  crimson  curtains,  to  admit  the 
November  sunshine,  Leo  was  absorbed  in  reading  the 
description  of  the  private  Ambar-valia  celebrated  by 
Marius  at  "White  Nights".  Under  the  spell  of  the 
Apostle  of  Culture,  whose  golden  precept :  "  Be  per 
fect  in  regard  to  what  is  here  and  now,"  had  appealed 
powerfully  to  her  earnest  exalted  nature,  she  failed  to 
observe  the  signals  of  her  pet  ring-doves  cooing ;on  the 
ledge  outside.  Finally  their  importunate  tapping  on 
the  glass  arrested  her  attention,  and  she  raised  the 
sash  and  scattered  a  handful  of  rice  and  millet  seed ; 
whereupon  a  cloud  of  dainty  wings  swept  down,  and 
into  the  library,  hovering  around  her  sunny  head,  and 
pecking  the  food  from  her  open  palms.  One  dove 
seemed  particularly  attracted  by  the  glitter  of  the 
diamond  in  her  engagement  ring,  and  perched  on  her 
wrist,  made  repeated  attempts  to  dislodge  the  jewel 
from  its  crown  setting.  Playfully  she  shook  it  off 
several  times,  and  amused  by  its  pertinacity,  finally 
closed  her  hands  over  it,  and  rubbed  her  soft  cheek 
against  the  delicate  silvery  plumage. 

"  No,  no,  you  saucy  scamp !  I  can't  afford  to  feed 
you  on  diamonds  from  my  sacred  ring !  Did  you  get 
your  greedy  nature  from  some  sable  Dodonean  ances 
tress  ?  If  we  had  lived  three  thousand  years  ago,  I 
might  be  superstitious,  and  construe  your  freak  into 
an  oracular  protest  against  my  engagement.  Feathered 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS,  169 

augurs  survive  their  shrines.     Clear  out !    you   here 
tic!" 

As  she  tossed  it  into  the  garden  and  closed  the 
window,  the  portiere  of  the  library  was  drawn  aside, 
and  her  maid  approached,  followed  by  a  female  figure 
draped  in  a  shawl,  and  wearing  a  lofty  turban. 

"  Miss  Leo,  Aunt  Dyce  wants  to  see  you  on  some 
particular  business." 

"  Howdy  do,  Aunt  Dyce  ?  It  is  a  long  time  since  you 
paid  us  a  visit.  Justine,  push  up  a  chair  for  her,  and 
then  open  the  cages  and  let  the  birds  out  for  an  hour. 
What  is  the  matter,  Aunt  Dyce,  you  look  troubled  ? 
Sit  down,  and  tell  me  your  tribulations." 

' '  Yes,  Miss  Leo,  I  am  in  deep  waters ;  up  to  my 
chin  in  trouble,  and  my  heart  is  dragging  me  down ; 
for  its  heavier  'an  a  bushel  of  lead.  You  don't  re 
member  your  own  ma,  do  you  ?  " 

"  I  wish  I  did  ;  but  I  was  only  five  months  old  when 
I  lost  her." 

"  Well,  if  she  was  living  to-day,  she  would  stretch 
her  two  hands  and  pull  me  out  of  muddy  waves ;  and 
that's  why  I  have  come  to  you.  You  see.  Miss  Marcia 
and  my  young  Mistiss,  Miss  Ellice,  was  bosom  friends, 
playmates,  and  like  sisters.  They  named  their  dolls 
after  one  another,  and  many  a  time  your  ma  brought 
her  wax  doll  to  our  house,  for  me  to  dress  it  just  like 
Miss  Ellice's,  'cause  I  was  the  seamstus  in  our  family, 
and  I  always  humored  the  childun  about  their  doll 
clothes.  They  had  their  candy  pullins,  and  their 
birthday  frolics,  and  their  shetlan'  ponies  no  bigger 
'an  dogs,  and,  oh  Lord  !  what  blessed  happy  times 
them  was  !  Now,  your  ma's  in  glory,  and  you  is  the 
richest  belle  in  the  State ;  and  my  poor  young  mistiss 
is  in  the  worst  puggatory,  the  one  that  comes  before 
death ;  and  her  child,  her  daughter  that  oughter  be 


170  AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

living-  in  style  at  'Elm  Bluff',  like  you  are  here, 
where  is  she?  Where  is  she?  Flung  down  among 
vilyans  and  mallyfactors,  and  the  very  off-scourings 
of  creation,  in  the  penitenchery  !  'Pears  to  me  like, 
if  old  mistiss  is  as  high-headed  and  proud  as  she 
was  in  this  world,  her  speerit  would  tear  down  the 
walls  and  set  her  grandchild  free.  When  I  saw 
that  beautiful  young  thing  beating  her  white  hands 
agin  the  iron  bars,  it  went  to  my  heart  like  a  carv 
ing  knife,  and —  " 

Dyce  burst  into  tears,  and  covered  her  face  with  her 
apron.  Leo  patted  her  shoulder  softly,  and  essayed 
to  comfort  her. 

"Don't  cry  so  bitterly;  try  to  be  hopeful.  It  is 
very,  very  sad,  but  if  she  is  innocent,  her  stay  in 
prison  will  be  short." 

"  There  ain't  no  '  ifs ' — when  it  comes  to  'cusing  my 
mistiss'  child  of  stealing  and  murdering.  Suppose  the 
sheriff  was  to  light  down  here  this  minute,  and  grab 
you  up  and  tell  folks  'spectable  witnesses  swore  you 
broke  open  your  Uncle  Mitchell's  safe,  and  brained 
him  with  a  handi'on  ?  Would  you  think  it  friendly 
for  people  to  say,  if  she  didn't  they  will  soon  turn  her 
aloose  ?  Would  that  be  any  warm  poultice  to  your 
hurt  feelin's  ?  It's  the  stinging  shame  and  the  awful 
disgrace  of  being  'spicioned,  that  you  never  would  for 
give." 

"  Yes,  it  is  very  dreadful,  and  I  pity  the  poor  girl ; 
but  it  seems  that  appearances  are  all  against  her,  and 
I  fear  she  will  find  it  difficult  to  explain  some  circum 
stances." 

"  If  your  ma  was  here  to-day,  she  wouldn't  say  that. 
When  she  was  a  friend,  she  was  stone  deaf  and  mole 
blind  to  every  evil  report  agin  them  she  loved.  Miss 
Marcia  would  go  straight  to  that  jail,  and  put  her  arms 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  171 

'round  Miss  Ellice's  child,  and  stand  by  her  till  her 
last  breath ;  and  the  more  she  was  pussecuted,  the 
closer  she  would  stick.  Miss  Leo,  you  must  take  your 
ma's  place,  you  must  heir  her  friendship  just  like  you 
do  her  other  property.  I  have  come  to  you,  'cause  I 
am  going  away  to  New  York,  and  can't  feel  easy  'till 
you  promise  me  you  will  do  what  you  can.  Miss 
Ellice  is  laying  at  the  pint  of  death,  and  her  poor 
child  is  so  deestracted  about  her  needing  comforts, 
that  I  tole  her  I'de  go  on  an'  nuss  her  ma  for  her, 
'till  she  was  sot  free  and  could  hurry  back.  I  dreampt 
last  night  that  ole  mistiss  called  me  and  Bedney,  and 
said  '  Take  good  care  of  Ellice  '  ;  and  I  got  right  out 
of  bed  and  packed  my  trunk.  I'm  just  from  the  peni- 
tenchery,  and  that  poor  tormented  child  don't  know 
me,  don't  know  nothing.  Trouble  have  run  her  plum 
crazy,  and  what  with  brain  fever  and  them  lie-yers, 
God  only  knows  what's  to  become  of  her.  Handi'ons 
ain't  the  only  godforsaken  things  folks  are  murdered 
with.  Miss  Leo,  promise  me  you  will  go  to  see  her 
while  I  am  gone,  and  'tend  to  it  that  she  has  good 
missing." 

"  I  will  do  what  is  possible  for  her  comfort ;  and  as 
it  will  be  an  expensive  journey  to  you,  I  will  also  help 
you  to  pay  your  passage  to  New  York.  How  much 
money —  " 

"  I  don't  want  your  money,  Miss  Leo.  Bedney  and 
me  never  is  beholdin' to  nobody  for  money.  We  was 
too  sharp  to  drap  our  savings  in  the  '  Freedman's 
Bank',  'cause  we  'spicioned  the  bottom  was  not  sod- 
dered  tight,  and  Marster's  britches'  pocket  was  a 
good  enough  lank  for  us.  We  don't  need  to  beg, 
borrow,  nor  steal.  As  I  tole  you,  I  was  the  seamstuss, 
and  just  before  Miss  Ellice  run  away  from  the  school, 
ole  mistiss  had  a  fine  lot  of  bran-new  clothes  made 


172  AT  THE  MERCY  QF  TIBERIUS. 

ready  for  her  when  she  come  home  to  be  a  young  lady. 
She  never  did  come  home,  and  when  ole  mistiss  died  I 
jist  tuck  them  new  clothes  I  had  made,  and  packed  'em 
in  a  wooden  chist,  and  kept  'em  hid  away ;  'cause  I 
was  determed  nobody  but  Miss  Ellice  should  wear 
'em.  I've  hid  'em  twenty-three  years,  and  now  I've 
had  'em  done  up,  and  one-half  I  tuck  to  that  jail,  for 
that  poor  young  thing,  and  the  rest  of  'em  I'm  gwine  to 
carry  to  Miss  Ellice.  They  shan't  need  money  nor 
clothes ;  for  Bedney  and  me  has  got  too  much  famly 
pride  to  let  outsiders  do  for  our  own  folks ;  but  Miss  Leo, 
you  can  do  what  nobody  else  in  this  wide  world  can.  I 
ain't  a  gwine  to  walk  the  devil  'round  the  stump,  and 
you  musn't  take  no  'fence  when  I  jumps  plum  to  the 
pint.  Mars  Lennox  is  huntin'  down  Miss  Ellice 's  child 
like  a  hungry  hound  runs  a  rabbit,  and  I  want  you 
to  call  him  off.  If  he  thinks  half  as  much  of  you  as  he 
ougliter,  you  can  stop  him.  Oh,  Miss  Leo,  for  God's 
sake — call  him  off — muzzle  him  !" 

Leo  rose  haughtily,  and  a  quick  flush  fired  her  cheek ; 
but  as  she  looked  at  the  old  woman's  quivering  mouth 
and  streaming  eyes,  compassion  arrested  her  displeas 
ure. 

"  Aunt  Dyce,  there  are  some  things  with  which  ladies 
should  not  meddle;  and  I  cannot  interfere  with  any 
gentleman's  business  affairs." 

"  Oh,  honey  !  if  Miss  Marcia  was  living,  she  wouldn't 
say  that !  She  would  just  put  her  arm  round  Miss 
Beryl  and  tell  Mars  Lennox :  '  If  you  help  to  hang  my 
friend's  child,  you  shan't  marry  my  daughter  ! '  Your 
ma  had  pluck  enuff  to  stop  him.  Mark  what  I  say ; 
that  poor  child  is  innercent,  and  the  Lord  will  clear  up 
everything  some  day,  and  then  He  will  require  the 
blood  of  them  that  condemned  the  innercent.  Suppos'n 
appearances  are  agin  her?  Wasn't  appearances  all 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  173 

agin  Joseph's  bruthren  when  the  money  and  the  silver 
cup  was  found  in  their  bags,  and  them  afleein  home  ? 
And  if  the  'Gyptian  lie-yers  could  have  got  their  claws 
on  that  case,  don't  you  know  they  would  have  proved 
them  innercent  boys  guilty,  and  a  hung  em  ?  Oh,  I 
am  afeerd  of  Mars  Lennox,  for  he  favors  his  pa  mightily; 
he  has  got  the  keenest  scent  of  all  the  pack  ;  and  he 
went  up  yonder,  and  'cused,  and  'bused,  and  browbeat 
and  aggervated  and  tormented  that  poor,  helpless 
young  creetur,  'till  she  fell  down  in  a  dead  faint  on  the 
jail  floor  ;  and  sence  then,  the  Doctor  says  her  mind  is 
done  clean  gone.  Don't  get  mad  with  me,  Miss  Leo; 
I  am  bound  to  clare  my  conscience,  and  now  I  have 
done  all  I  could,  I  am  gwine  to  leave  my  poor  young 
mistiss'  child  in  God's  hands,  and  in  yourn,  Miss  Leo  ; 
and  when  I  come  back,  you  must  gim'me  an  account 
of  your  stewudship.  You  are  enuff  like  Miss  Marcia, 
not  to  shirk  your  duty ;  and  as  you  do,  by  that  pusse- 
cuted  child,  I  pray  the  Lord  to  do  by  you." 

She  seized  Leo's  hand,  kissed  it,  and  left  the  room. 

For  some  moments  Leo  sat,  with  one  finger  between 
the  creamy  leaves  of  her  favorite  book,  but  the  charm 
was  broken;  her  thoughts  wandered  far  from  the 
stories  of  Apuleius,  and  the  oration  of  Aurelius,  and 
after  mature  deliberation,  she  put  aside  the  volume 
and  rang  the  library  bell. 

"  Justine,  is  Mrs.  Graham  here?" 

"  She  is  coming  now  ;  I  see  the  carriage  at  the  gate." 

"  Do  not  invite  her  into  Aunt  Patty's  room,  until  I 
have  seen  her.  Tell  Andrew  to  harness  Gypsy,  and 
bring  my  phaeton  to  the  door ;  and  Justine,  carry  my 
felt  hat,  driving  gloves  and  fur  jacket  to  Aunt  Patty's 
room." 

Confined  to  her  bed  by  a  severe  attack  of  her  chronic 
foe,  inflammatory  rheumatism,  Miss  Dent  had  sent  for 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


her  dearest  friend  and  faithful  colleague  in  church 
work,  Mrs.  Graham,  who  came  to  spend  a  day  and 
night,  and  discuss  the  affairs  of  the  parish. 

"  Aunt  Patty,  Mrs.  Graham  is  in  the  parlor,  and  as 
I  am  well  aware  you  can  both  cheerfully  dispense  with 
my  society  for  the  present,  I  am  going  into  town. 
Dyce  Darrington  has  been  here,  and  I  have  promised 
to  go  and  see  that  unfortunate  girl  who  is  in  prison." 

"Leo  Gordon,  you  don't  mean  to  tell  me  that  you 
are  going-  into  the  penitentiary  1" 

"Why  not?" 

"It  is  highly  improper  for  a  young  lady  to  visit 
such  places,  and  I  am  astonished  that  you  should  feel 
any  inclination  to  see  the  countenances  of  the  depraved 
wretches  herded  there.  I  totally  disapprove  of  such 
an  incomprehensible  freak." 

"  Then  I  will  hold  the  scheme  in  abeyance,  until  I  ask 
Uncle  Mitchell's  advice.  I  shall  call  at  his  office,  and 
request  him  to  go  with  me." 

"  Don't  you  know  that  the  Grand  Jury  brought  in  a 
true  bill  against  that  young  woman  ?  She  is  indicted 
for  murder,  robbery  and  the  destruction  of  her  grand 
father's  will.  Mitchell  tells  me  the  evidence  is  over 
whelming  against  her,  and  you  know  he  was  disposed 
to  defend  her  at  first." 

"  Yes,  Aunty,  I  am  aware  that  everything  looks 
black  for  the  unfortunate  girl ;  but  I  learn  she  is  very 
ill,  and  as  it  cannot  possibly  injure  me  to  endeavor  to 
contribute  to  her  physical  comfort,  I  skall  go  and  see 
her,  unless  Uncle  Mitchell  refuses  his  consent  to  my 
visit  to  the  prison." 

"  But,  Leo,  what  do  you  suppose  Mr.  Dunbar  will 
think  and  say,  when  he  hears  of  this  extraordinary 
procedure  ?" 

"  Mr.  Dunbar  is  neither  the  custodian  of  my  con- 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  175 

science,  nor  the  guardian  and  dictator  of  my  actions. 
Good-bye,  Aunty  dear.  Justine,  show  Mrs.  Graham 
in." 

"Mr.  Dunbar  will  never  forgive  such  a  step  ;  be 
cause,  like  all  other  men,  no  matter  how  much  license 
he  allows  himself,  he  is  very  exacting  and  fastidious 
about  the  demeanor  of  his  lady-love." 

"  I  shall  not  ask  absolution  of  Mr.  Dunbar,  and  1 
hope  my  womanly  intuitions  are  a  safer  and  more  re 
fined  guide,  than  any  man's  fastidiousness.  Remem 
ber,  Aunt  Patty,  religion's  holiest  work  consists  in 
ministering  to  souls  steeped  in  sin.  Are  we  too  pure 
to  follow  where  Christ  led  the  way  ?" 


CHAPTER  XI.   * 

*'  IV/T  ADAM,  I  ordered  the  prisoner's  head  shaved. 

•*•*-*•     Did  you  understand  my  instructions  ?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Why  were  my  orders  not  obeyed ?" 

"  Because  I  don't  intend  you  shall  make  a  convict 
of  her,  before  she  has  been  tried  and  sentenced.  She 
has  the  most  glorious  suit  of  hair  I  ever  looked  at, 
and  I  shall  save  it  till  the  last  moment.  Doctor  Moffat, 
you  need  not  swear  and  fume,  for  I  don't  allow  even 
my  husband  to  talk  ugly  to  me.  You  directed  a 
blister  put  on  the  back  of  the  neck,  as  close  as  possible 
to  the  skull ;  it  is  there,  and  it  is  drawing  fast  enough 
to  satisfy  any  reasonable  person.  I  divided  the  hair 
into  four  braids  and  plaited  them,  and  you  can  see  I 
have  hung  up  the  ends  here  just  loose  enough  to  save 
any  pulling,  and  yet  the  hair  is  out  of  the  way,  so  that 


176 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 


I  keep  her  head  cool  with  this  India-rubber  ice-bag. 
I  will  be  responsible  for  the  blister." 

Mrs.  Singleton  spread  her  arms  over  the  sick  girl, 
as  a  hen  shelters  her  brood  from  a  swooping  hawk. 

"But,   Susie,  the  Doctor  knows  better  what  is — " 

"  Hush,  Ned.  Perhaps  he  does ;  but  I  '  detailed' 
myself  to  nurse  this  case ;  and  I  don't  propose  to  sur 
render  all  my  common  sense,  and  all  my  womanly 
jadgment,  and  maternal  experience,  in  order  to  keep 
the  Doctor  in  a  good  humor.  I  will  have  my  own  head 
shaved  before  hers  shall  be  touched." 

Mr.  Singleton  discreetly  withdrew  from  the  confer 
ence,  softly  closing  the  door  behind  him ;  and  Doctor 
Mo  (Tat  bent  over  the  thermometer  with  which  he  was 
testing  the  temperature.  When  he  raised  his  head, 
a  kindly  smile  lurked  in  his  deep  set  eyes: 

( 'I  can't  afford  to  quarrel  with  you,  madam;  you  are 
too  faithful  and  watchful  a  nurse.  After  all,  the 
chances  are,  that  it  will  ultimately  make  very  little 
difference;  she  grows  worse  so  rapidly.  I  will  come  in 
again  before  bed-time,  and  meanwhile  make  no  change 
in  the  medicine." 

The  warden's  wife  replenished  the  ice  in  a  bowl, 
whence  a  tube  supplied  the  cap  or  bag  on  the  head  of 
the  sufferer,  and  taking  a  child's  apron  from  her  work- 
basket  on  the  floor,  resumed  her  sewing.  After  a 
while,  the  door  opened  noiselessly,  and  glancing  up, 
she  saw  Mr.  D unbar. 

"May  I  come  in?" 

"  Yes.  You  need  repentance ;  and  this  is  a  good 
place  to  begin." 

"  Is  there  any  change  ?" 

"  Only  for  the  worse.  No  need  now  to  tip- toe;  she 
is  beyond  being  disturbed  by  noise.  I  think  the  first 
sound  she  will  notice,  will  be  the  harps  of  the  angels." 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  177 

"  I  trust  the  case  is  not  so  hopeless  ?" 

"  Queer  heart  you  must  have !  You  are  afraid  she 
will  slip  through  your  fingers,  and  get  to  heaven  with 
out  the  help  of  the  gallows  and  the  black  cap  ?  Death 
cheats  even  the  lawyers,  sometimes,  and  seems  to  be 
snatching  at  your  prey.  You  don't  believe  in  prayer, 
and  you  have  no  time  to  waste  that  way.  I  do ;  and  I 
get  down  here  constantly  on  my  knees,  and  pray  to  my 
God  to  take  this  poor  young  thing  out  of  the  world 
now,  before  you  all  convict  her,  and  punish  her  for 
crimes  she  never  committed." 

"Madam,  her  conviction  would  grieve  me  as  much 
as  it  possibly  could  you;  and  unless  she  can  vindicate 
herself,  I  earnestly  hope  she  may  never  recover  her 
consciousness." 

The  unmistakable  sincerity  of  his  tone  surprised 
the  little  woman,  and  scanning  him  keenly  as  he  stood, 
hat  in  hand,  at  the  foot  of  the  cot,  her  heart  relented 
toward  him. 

"  You  still  consider  her  guilty?" 

"  Since  my  last  interview  with  her,  I  have  arrived 
at  no  conclusion.  Whether  she  be  innocent  or  guilty, 
is  known  only  by  her,  and  her  God.  All  human  judg 
ments  in  such  cases  are  but  guesses  at  the  truth.  Is 
she  entirely  unconscious,  or  has  she  lucid  intervals  ?" 

"  Mr.  Dunbar,  on  your  honor  as  a  gentleman, 
answer  me.  Are  you  here  hunting  evidence  on  a 
death-bed?  Would  you  be  so  diabolical  as  to  use 
against  her  any  utterances  of  delirium  ?" 

The  flash  of  his  eyes  reminded  her  of  the  peculiar 
blue  flame  that  leaps  from  a  glowing  bed  of  anthracite 
coal;  and  she  had  her  reply  before  his  lips  moved. 

"  Am  I  a  butcher,  madam  ?  Your  insinuations  are 
so  insulting  to  my  manhood,  that  it  is  difficult  for  me 
to  remember  my  interrogator  is  a  lady  ;  doubly  diffi- 


178  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

cult  for  me  to  show  you  the  courtesy  your  sex  de 
mands.  Sooner  than  betray  the  secrets  of  a  sick  room, 
or  violate  the  sanctity  of  the  confidence  which  that 
poor  girl's  condition  enjoins,  I  would  cut  off  my  right 
arm." 

"  I  intend  no  discourtesy,  sir ;  but  my  feelings  are 
so  deeply  enlisted,  that  I  cannot  stop  to  choose  and 
pick  phrases,  in  talking  to  the  person  who  caused  that 
child  to  be  shut  up  here.  She  thinks  you  are  the  most 
vindictive  and  dangerous  enemy  she  has ;  and  I  had 
no  reason  to  contradict  her.  Don't  be  offended,  Mr. 
Dunbar." 

He  deigned  no  answer,  but  the  dilation  of  his  thin 
nostrils,  and  the  stern  contraction  of  his  handsome  lips, 
attested  his  wrath.  Mrs.  Singleton  rose  and  laid  her 
fingers  on  his  coat  sleeve. 

"  If  I  felt  sure  I  could  trust  you — " 

"  I  decline  your  confidence.  Madam,  if  I  could  only 
tell  you,  that  your  vile  suspicions  are  too  contemptible 
to  merit  the  indignation  they  arouse,  I  should  to  some 
extent  feel  relieved." 

"  Then  having  said  it,  I  will  let  you  off  without  an 
apology ;  and  wipe  the  slate,  and  start  fresh.  You 
are  sensitive  about  your  honor,  and  I  am  determined 
to  find  out  just  how  much  it  is  worth.  Trusting  you 
as  an  honorable  gentleman,  I  am  going  to  ask  you  to 
do  something  for  me,  which  may  be  of  service  to  my 
patient ;  and  I  ask  it,  because  I  have  unlimited  faith 
in  your  skill.  Find  out  who  *  Ricordo '  is." 

"  Why  ?  I  must  thoroughly  understand  the  import 
of  whatever  I  undertake,  and  if  your  reasons  are  too 
sacred  to  be  communicated  to  me,  you  must  select 
some  other  agent.  I  do  not  solicit  your  confidence, 
mark  you  ;  but  I  must  know  all,  or  nothing." 

"  The  day  she  was  taken  so  ill,  I  was  undressing 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

her,  and  she  looked  at  me  very  strangely,  and  said 
she  believed  she  was  losing  her  mind.  Then  she  raised 
her  hands  and  prayed  : 

"  '  Lord,  be  merciful !  Lord,  seal  my  lips  !  Seal  my 
lips  !' 

"  Since  then  she  has  not  known  me,  but  several 
times  she  cried  out  *  Ricordo  ' !  Last  night  she  sat  up 
suddenly,  and  stared  at  something  she  seemed  to  see 
right  before  her  in  the  air.  She  shook  her  head  at  first, 
and  said — '  Oh,  no  !  it  cannot  be  possible'.  Then  she 
clutched  at  some  invisible  object,  and  a  look  of  horror 
came  into  her  eyes.  She  struck  her  palms  together, 
and  I  never  heard  such  an  agonizing  cry,  '  There  is 
no  help  !  I  must  believe  it — oh  Ricordo ! — Ricordo — 
Ricordo'.  She  fell  back  and  shivered  as  if  she  had 
an  ague.  I  tried  to  soothe  her,  and  told  her  she  had 
a  bad  dream.  She  kept  saying :  '  Oh  horrible — it 
was,  it  was  Ricordo  !'  Once,  early  this  morning,  she 
pulled  me  down  to  her  and  whispered  :  '  Don't  tell 
mother — it  would  break  her  heart  to  know  it  was 
Ricordo ! '  She  has  not  spoken  distinctly  since, 
though  she  mutters  to  herself.  Now,  Mr.  Dunbar,  if 
I  did  not  feel  as  sure  of  her  innocence  as  I  am  of  my 
own,  I  should  never  tell  you  this  ;  but  I  want  your  aid 
to  hunt  and  catch  this  '  Ricordo ',  because  I  am  satis 
fied  it  will  help  to  clear  her." 

"  Was  it  not '  Ricardo '  ?" 

"  No,  sir — it  sounded  as  if  spelled  with  an  o  not  an  a 
— and  it  was  '  Ricordo  V 

"  Ricardo  is  a  proper  name,  but  I  am  under  the  im 
pression  that  '  Ricordo '  is  an  Italian  word  that 
means  simply  a  remembrance,  a  souvenir,  sometimes 
a  warning.  I  am  glad,  however,  to  have  the  clue, 
and  I  will  do  all  I  can  to  discover  what  connection 


180 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  <  TIBERIUS. 


exists  between  that  word,  and  the  crime.   Can  you  tell 
me  nothing  more  ?" 

"  Sometimes  she  seems  to  be  drawing"  and  painting, 
and  talks  to  her  father  about  pictures ;  and  once  she 
said  :  '  Hush  !  hush — mother  is  ill.  She  must  not 
know  I  died,  because  I  promised  her  I  would  bear 
everything.  She  made  me  promise.' ' 

At  this  moment  the  keen  wail  of  a  young  child,  sum 
moned  the  warden's  wife  to  her  own  apartment,  and 
Mr.  Dunbar  sat  down  in  the  rocking-chair  beside  the 
iron  cot. 

In  that  strange  terra  incognita,  the  realm  of  psy 
chology,  are  there  hidden  laws  that  defy  alike  the 
ravages  of  cerebral  disease,  and  the  intuitions  of  the 
moral  nature ;  inexorable  as  the  atomic  affinities,  the 
molecular  attractions  that  govern  crystallization  ?  Is 
the  day  dawning,  when  the  phenomena  of  hypnotism 
will  be  analyzed  and  formulated  as  accurately  as  the 
symbols  of  chemistry,  or  the  constituents  of  proto 
plasm,  or  the  weird  chromatics  of  spectroscopy  ? 

Beryl's  head,  that  hitherto  had  turned  restlessly  on 
its  pillow,  became  motionless ;  the  closed  eyes  opened 
suddenly,  fastened  upon  the  lawyer's ;  and  some  in 
explicable  influence  impelled  her  to  stretch  out  her 
hand  to  him. 

"  Tiberius,  you  have  come  for  me." 
"  I  have  come  to  ask  if  you  are  better  to-day." 
Her  burning  fingers  closed  tightly  over  his,  and  the 
fever  flame  lent  an  indescribable  splendor  to  eyes  that 
seemed  to  penetrate  his  heart.    Bending  over  her,  he 
gently  lifted  a  shining  fold  of  hair  from  her  white 
temple,  and  still  clasping  her  hand,  said  in  a  low  voice: 
"  Beryl,  do  you  know  me  ?    Are  you  better  ?' 
'  *  Wait  till  I  finish  the  sketch  from  San  Michele.  After 
I  am  hung,  you  will  sell  it.    The  light  is  so  lovely." 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  181 

Up  and  down,  her  right  hand  moved  through  the 
air,  making  imaginary  strokes  as  on  canvas,  but  her 
luminous  gaze,  held  by  some  powerful  fascination, 
never  left  his.  The  grey  depths  had  darkened,  swal 
lowed  by  the  widening  pupils  that  made  them  almost 
black;  and  as  Mr.  Dunbar  recognized  the  complete 
surrender  of  physical  and  mental  faculties,  her  helpless 
ness  stirred  some  unknown  sea  of  tenderness  in  the 
man's  hard,  practical,  realistic  nature. 

Phlegmatic  rather  than  emotional,  and  wholly 
secretive,  he  had  accustomed  himself  to  regard  ro 
mantic  ideality,  and  susceptibility  to  sentimentality  as 
a  species  of  intellectual  anaemia ;  holding  himself  al 
ways  thoroughly  in  hand,  when  subjected  to  the  soften 
ing  influences  that  now  and  then  invaded  professional 
existence,  and  melted  the  conventional  selfish  crust 
over  the  hearts  of  his  colleagues,  as  the  warm  lips  and 
balmy  breath  of  equatorial  currents  kiss  away  the 
jagged  ledges  of  drifting  icebergs.  In  his  laborious 
life,  that  which  is  ordinarily  denominated  "  love"  had 
been  so  insignificant  a  factor,  that  he  had  never  com 
puted  its  potentiality ;  much  less  realized  its  tremend 
ous  importance  in  solving  the  problem  of  his  social, 
financial,  and  professional  success.  Beauty  had  not 
allured,  nor  grace  enthralled  his  fancy  ;  and  his  be 
trothal  was  a  mere  incident  in  the  quiet  tenor  of  busi 
ness  routine,  a  necessary  means  for  the  accomplishment 
of  a  cherished  plan. 

To-day,  while  those  hot  slender  fingers  clung  to  his, 
and  he  leaned  over  the  pillow,  watching  his  victim,  a 
rising  tide  surged,  rolled  up  from  some  unexplored  ocean 
of  strange  sensations,  and  its  devouring  waves  threat 
ened  to  demolish  and  engulf  the  stately  structure,  pride 
and  ambition  had  combined  to  rear.  A  brilliant  alli 
ance  that  insured  great  wealth,  that  promised  a  secure 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

stepping-stone  to  political  preferment,  was  apparently 
a  substantial  bulwark  against  the  swelling  billows  of  an 
unaccountable  whim ;  yet  he  was  impotent  to  resist  the 
yearning  tenderness  which  impelled  him  to  forget  all 
else,  in  one  determined  effort  to  rescue  and  shelter  the 
life  he  had  been  the  chief  agent  in  imperilling.  Clear 
eyed,  keen  witted,  he  did  not  for  an  instant  deceive 
himself ;  and  he  knew  that  neither  compassion  for 
misfortune,  nor  yet  a  chivalrous  remorse  for  having 
consigned  a  helpless  woman  to  a  dungeon,  explained 
this  new  emotion  that  threatened  to  dominate  all 
others. 

Cool  reason  assured  him  that  under  existing  entangle 
ments,  the  girl's  speedy  death  would  prove  the  most 
felicitous  solution  of  this  devouring  riddle,  which  so 
unexpectedly  crossed  his  smooth  path;  then  what 
meant  the  vehement  protest  of  his  throbbing  heart, 
the  passionate  longing  to  snatch  her  from  disease,  and 
disgrace,  and  keep  her  safe  forever  in  the  close  cordon 
of  his  arms  ? 

The  door  was  cautiously  opened  and  closed,  and 
noiselessly  as  a  phantom,  Leo  Gordon  stood  within 
the  room.  One  swift  survey  enabled  her  to  grasp  all 
the  details.  The  small,  comfortless,  dismal  apartment, 
the  barred  narrow  window,  the  bare  floor,  the  low  iron 
cot  in  one  corner,  with  its  beautiful  burden ;  the  watch 
ing  attitude  of  the  man,  who  for  years  had  possessed 
her  heart.  Resting  one  elbow  on  his  knee,  his  chin 
leaned  on  his  left  hand,  but  the  light  fell  full  on  his 
handsome  face,  and  she  started,  marvelled  at  the  ex 
pression  of  the  brilliant  eyes  fixed  upon  the  sufferer ; 
eyes  suffused  and  eloquent  with  tenderness,  never  be 
fore  seen  in  their  cold  sparkling  depths. 

Mighty  indeed  must  be  the  compassion,  evocative  of 
that  intense  yearning  look  in  his  usually  guarded,  ir- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  183 

responsive  countenance.  A  painfully  humiliating 
sense  of  her  own  personal  incompetence  to  arouse  the 
feeling-,  so  legibly  printed  on  her  lover's  features,  jarred 
upon  Leo's  heart  like  a  twanging  dissonance  breaking 
the  harmonious  flow  of  minor  chords ;  but  a  noble  pity 
strangled  this  jealous  thrill,  and  she  softly  approached 
the  cot. 

The  rustle  of  her  dress  attracted  his  attention,  and 
glancing  up,  he  saw  his  betrothed  at  his  side.  One 
might  have  counted  ten,  while  they  silently  regarded 
each  other ;  and  as  if  conscious  of  having  unmasked 
some  disloyalty,  scarcely  yet  acknowledged  to  himself, 
haughty  defiance  hardened  and  darkened  his  face.  In 
voluntarily  his  hold  on  Beryl's  fingers  tightened. 

* '  Prison  wards  are  not  proper  fields  for  the  culti 
vation  and  display  of  Miss  Gordon's  amateur  kid  glove 
charity.  I  hope,  at  least,  it  was  a  species  of  exagger 
ated  high-flown  sentimentality,  rather  than  mere 
feminine  curiosity  that  tempted  you  to  precincts  revolt 
ing  to  the  delicacy  and  refinement  with  which  my  im 
agination  invested  you." 

"  My  motives  I  shall  not  submit  to  the  crucible  of 
your  criticism ;  and  a  little  reflection  will  probably  sug 
gest  to  you,  that  perhaps  you  are  unduly  enlarging  the 
limits,  and  prematurely  exercising  the  rights  of  an 
ticipated  censorship.  There  are  blunders  that  trench 
closely  upon  the  borders  of  crime,  and  if  professional 
zeal  has  betrayed  you  into  the  commission  of  a  great 
wrong  upon  an  innocent  woman,  it  is  a  sacred  duty  to 
your  victim,  as  well  as  my  privilege  as  your  betrothed, 
to  alleviate  her  suffering  as  much  as  possible,  and  to 
repair  the  injury  for  which  you  are  responsible. 
When  human  life  and  reputation  are  at  stake,  hyper 
critical  fastidiousness  is  less  pardonable  than  the  de 
plorable  mistake  that  endangers  both." 


184 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


"  And  if  I  have  not  blundered  ;  and  she  be  guilty  ? 

"  Then  your  presence  here,  can  only  be  explained  by 
motives  so  malignant  and  contemptible,  that  I  blush 
to  ascribe  them  to  you." 

"  If  I  am  morbidly  sensitive  about  your  line  of  con 
duct,  you  should  understand  and  pardon  my  jealous  es 
pionage." 

"  If  I,  realizing  that  you  are  not  infallible,  entertain 
a  nervous  dread  that  unintentionally  you  may  have  in 
flicted  an  irreparable  wrong,  you  at  least  should  not 
feel  offended,  because  I  am  sensitive  as  regards  reflec 
tions  upon  your  honor  as  a  gentleman,  and  your  astute 
ness  as  a  lawyer." 

Her  fair  face  had  flushed ;  his  grew  pale. 

"  Leo,  is  this  to  be  our  first  quarrel  ?" 

"  If  so,  you  are  entitled  to  the  role  of  protagonist." 

He  put  out  his  left  hand,  and  took  hers,  while  his 
right  was  closely  clasping  one  that  lay  upon  the  chintz 
coverlid. 

What  strange  obliquity  of  vision,  what  inscrutable 
perversity  possessed  him,  he  asked  himself,  as  he  look 
ed  up  at  the  slight  elegant  figure,  clad  in  costly  camel's- 
hair  garments,  with  Russian  sables  wrapped  about 
her  delicate  throat,  with  a  long  drifting  plume  casting 
flickering  shadows  over  her  sweet  flowerlike  face  ;  the 
attractive  embodiment  of  patrician  birth  and  environ 
ment  of  riches,  and  all  that  the  world  values  most — 
then  down  at  the  human  epitome  of  wretchedness,  re 
presented  by  a  bronze-crowned  head,  with  singularly 
magnetic  eyes,  crimsoned  cheeks,  and  a  perfect  mouth, 
whose  glowing,  fever-rouged  lips  were  curved  in  a 
shadowy  smile,  as  she  muttered  incoherently  of  inci 
dents,  connected  with  the  life  of  a  poverty-stricken 
adventuress  ?  Was  friendly  fate  flying  danger  signals 
by  arranging  and  accentuating  this  vivid  contrast,  in 


AT  THE  MERC*    OF  TIBERIUS.  185 

order  to  recall  his  vagrant  wits,  to  cement  his  waver 
ing1  allegiance  ? 

He  was  a  brave  man,  but  he  shivered  slightly,  as  he 
confronted  his  own  insurgent  and  defiant  heart ;  and 
involuntarily,  his  fingers  dropped  Leo's,  and  his  right 
hand  tightened  on  the  hot  palm  throbbing  against  it. 

On  that  dark  tossing  main,  where  delirium  drove 
Beryl's  consciousness  to  and  fro  like  a  rudderless  wreck, 
did  some  mysterious  communion  of  spirits  survive  ? 
Did  some  subtle  mesmeric  current  telegraph  her  soul, 
that  her  foul  wrongs  were  at  last  avenged  ?  What 
ever  the  cause,  certainly  a  strangely  clear,  musical 
laugh  broke  suddenly  from  her  lovely  lips,  mingled 
with  a  triumphant  "  Che  sard,  sard  /"  The  heavy  lids 
slowly  drooped,  the  head  turned  wearily  away. 

Smothering  a  long  drawn  sigh,  which  his  pride 
throttled,  Mr.  Dunbar  rose  and  stood  beside  his  fiancee. 

"  You  have  been  feeling  her  pulse,  how  is  the  fever?" 
asked  Leo. 

"  About  as  high  as  it  can  mount.  The  pulse  is  fright 
fully  rapid.  I  did  not  even  attempt  to  count  it." 

"  Mrs.  Singleton  tells  me  she  is  entirely  unconscious 
>— recognizes  no  one." 

"At  times,  I  think  she  has  partly  lucid  glimpses  ; 
for  instance,  a  little  while  ago  she  called  me  '  Tiberius', 
the  same  appellation  she  unaccountably  bestowed  ou 
me  the  day  of  her  preliminary  examination.  Evident 
ly  she  associates  me  with  every  cruel,  brutal  monster, 
and  even  in  delirium  maintains  her  aversion." 

Miss  Gordon's  hand  stole  into  his,  pressing  it  gently 
in  mute  attestation  of  sympathy.  After  a  moment, 
she  said  in  a  low  tone  : 

"She  is  very  beautiful.  What  a  noble,  pure  face? 
How  exquisitely  turned  her  white  throat,  and  wrists, 
and  hands." 


186 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


He  merely  inclined  his  head  in  assent. 

"  It  seems  a  profanation  to  connect  the  idea  of  crime 
with  so  lovely  and  refined  a  woman.  Lennox  ?" 

He  turned,  and  looked  into  her  brown  eyes,  which 
were  misty  with  tears. 

"  Well,  my  dear  Leo,  what  is  burdening  your  gener 
ous  heart  ?" 

"  Do  you,  can  you,  believe  her  guilty  P  Her  whole 
appearance  is  a  powerful  protest." 

"  Appearances  are  sometimes  fatally  false.  I  think 
you  told  me,  that  the  purest  and  loveliest  face,  guile 
less  as  an  angel's,  that  you  saw  in  Europe,  was  a 
portrait  of  Vittoria  Accoramboni ;  yet  she  was  verit 
ably  the  '  White. Devil',  *  beautiful  as  the  leprosy,  daz 
zling  as  the  lightning'.  Do  I  believe  her  guilty? 
From  any  other  lips  than  yours,  I  should  evade  the 
question  ;  but  I  proudly  acknowledge  your  right  to  an 
expression  of  my  opinion,  when — 

"  I  withdraw  the  question,  because  I  arrogate  no 
'  rights'.  I  merely  desire  the  privilege  of  sympathizing, 
if  possible,  with  your  views  ;  of  sharing  your  anxiety 
in  a  matter  involving  such  vital  consequences.  Privi 
lege  is  the  gift  of  affection  ;  right,  the  stern  allotment 
of  law.  Tell  me  nothing  now ;  I  shall  value  much 
more  the  privilege  of  receiving  your  confidence  unsolic 
ited." 

He  took  both  her  hands,  drew  her  close  to  him,  and 
looked  steadily  down  into  her  frank  tender  eyes. 

"  Thank  you,  my  dear  Leo.  Only  your  own  noble 
self  could  so  delicately  seek  to  relieve  me  from  a  pain 
ful  embarrassment ;  but  our  relations  invest  you  with 
both  rights  and  privileges,  which  for  my  sake  at  least, 
1  prefer  you  should  exercise.  You  must  allow  me  to 
conclude  my  sentence  ;  you  are  entitled  to  my  opinion — 
when  matured.  As  far  as  I  am  capable  of  judging-, 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  187 

the  evidence  against  her  is — overwhelmingly  condem 
natory.  I  thought  so  before  her  arrest ;  believed  it 
when  her  preliminary  examination  ended,  and  subse 
quent  incidents  strengthen  and  confirm  that  opinion ; 
yet  a  theory  has  dawned  upon  me,  that  may  possibly 
lighten  her  culpability.  I  need  not  tell  you,  that  I  feel 
acutely  the  responsibility  of  having  brought  her  here 
for  trial,  and  especially  of  her  present  pitiable  condi 
tion,  which  causes  me  sleepless  nights.  If  she  should 
live,  I  shall  make  some  investigation  in  a  distant 
quarter,  which  may  to  some  extent  exculpate  her,  by 
proving  her  an  accessory  instead  of  principal.  My — 
generous  Leo,  you  shall  be  the  first  to  whom  I  con 
fide  my  solution — when  attained.  I  am  sorely  puzzled, 
and  harassed  by  conflicting  conjectures  ;  and  you 
must  be  patient  writh  me,  if  I  appear  negligent  or  in 
different  to  the  privileges  of  that  lovely  shrine  where 
my  homage  is  due." 

"  If  you  felt  less  keenly  the  distressing  circumstance? 
surrounding  you,  I  should  deeply  regret  my  misplaced 
confidence  in  your  character  ;  and  certainly  you  must 
acquit  me  of  the  selfishness  that  could  desire  to  en 
gross  your  attention  at  this  juncture." 

Desirous  of  relieving  him  of  all  apprehension  rela« 
tive  to  a  possible  misconstruction  of  his  motives  and 
conduct,  she  left  one  hand  in  his,  and  laid  the  other 
with  a  caressing  touch  on  his  arm ;  an  unprecedented 
demonstration,  which  at  any  other  time  would  have 
surprised  and  charmed  him. 

"  Ah,  what  a  melancholy  sight !  So  much  delicate 
refined  beauty,  in  this  horrible  lair  of  human  beasts  ! 
Lennox,  let  us  hope  that  the  mercy  of  God  will  call  her 
speedily  to  His  own  bar  of  justice,  before  she  suffers 
the  torture  and  degradation  of  trial,  by  earthly  tribu 
nals," 


188 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


She  felt  the  slight  shudder  that  crept  over  him,  the 
sudden  start  with  which  he  dropped  her  hand,  and 
bent  once  more  over  the  cot. 

"  God  forbid  she  should  die  now,  leaving  the  burden 
of  her  murder  on  my  soul  I" 

His  countenance  was  averted,  but  the  fervor  of  his 
adjuration  filled  her  with  a  vague  sense  of  painful  fore 
boding. 

' l  Is  it  friendly  to  desire  the  preservation  of  a  life, 
whose  probable  goal  seems  the  gallows,  or  perpetual 
imprisonment  ?  Poor  girl !  In  the  choice  of  awful 
alternatives,  death  would  come  here  as  an  angel  of 
mercy." 

Leo  took  Beryl's  hand  in  hers,  and  tears  filled  her 
eyes  as  she  noted  the  symmetry  of  the  snowy  fingers, 
the  delicate  arch  of  the  black  brows,  the  exceeding 
beauty  of  the  waving  outline  where  the  rich  mahogany- 
hued  hair  touched  the  forehead  and  temples,  that 
gleamed  like  polished  marble. 

"  Is  it  friendly  to  wish  an  innocent  girl  to  go  down  in 
to  her  grave,  leaving  a  name  stained  for  all  time  by  sus 
picion,  if  not  absolute  conviction  of  a  horrible  crime  ?" 

Mr.  Dunbar  spoke  through  set  teeth,  and  Leo's 
astonishment  at  the  expression  of  his  countenance, 
delayed  an  answer,  which  was  prevented  by  the 
entrance  of  Mrs.  Singleton. 

"  Miss  Gordon,  your  uncle  wishes  to  know  whether 
you  are  ready  to  go  home  ;  as  he  has  an  engagement 
that  calls  him  away  ?" 

Did  Leo  imagine  the  look  of  relief  that  seemed  to 
brighten  Mr.  Dunbar's  face,  as  he  said  promptly  : 

"  With  your  permission,  I  will  see  you  safely  down 
stairs,  and  commit  you  to  Judge  Dent's  care." 

Standing  beside  the  cot,  she  watched  Mrs.  Singleton 
measure  the  medicine  from  a  vial  into  a  small  glass. 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  180 

When  the  warden's  wife  knelt  down,  and  putting  one 
arm  under  the  pillow  elevated  it  slightly,  while  she 
held  the  glass  to  the  girl's  lips,  Beryl  attempted  to 
push  it  aside. 

"  Take  it  for  me,  dear  child ;  it  will  make  you  sleep, 
and  ease  your  pain." 

The  beautiful  eyes  regarded  her  wistfully,  then 
wandered  to  the  face  of  the  lawyer  and  rested,  spell 
bound. 

"  Here,  swallow  this.    It  is  not  bad  to  take." 

Mrs.  Singleton  patted  her  cheek  and  again  essayed 
to  administer  the  draught,  but  without  success. 

"Let  me  try." 

Mr.  Dunbar  took  the  glass,  but  as  he  bent  down,  the 
girl  began  to  shiver  as  though  smitten  with  a  mortal 
chill.  She  writhed  away,  put  out  her  shuddering 
hands  to  ward  it  off ;  and  starting  up,  her  eyes  filled 
with  a  look  of  indescribable  horror  and  loathing,  as 
she  cried  out : 

"  Bicordo  !  Oh,  mother — it  is  Ricordo  !  I  see  it ! 
Father — it  was  my  Pegli  handkerchief  ! — with  the 
fuchsias  you  drew !  Father — ask  Christ  to  pity  me  !" 

She  sank  back  quivering  with  dread,  pitiable  to  con 
template  ;  but  after  a  few  moments  her  hands  sought 
each  other,  and  her  trembling  lips  moved  evidently  in 
prayer,  though  the  petition  was  inaudible.  Mrs.  Sin 
gleton  sponged  her  forehead  with  iced  water,  and  by 
degrees  the  convulsive  shivering  became  less  violent. 
The  wise  nurse  began  in  a  subdued  tone  to  sing  slowly, 
"  Nearer  my  God  to  Thee,"  and  after  a  little  while, 
the  sufferer  grew  still ;  the  heavy  lids  lifted  once  or 
twice,  then  closed,  and  the  laboring  brain  seized  on 
some  new  vision  in  the  world  of  fevered  dreams. 

Mrs.  Singleton  took  the  medicine  from  the  attorney, 
and  put  it  aside. 


190  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS 

"Sleep  is  her  best  physic.  When  these  nervous 
shivers  come  on,  I  find  a  hymn  chanted,  soothes  her 
as  it  does  one  of  my  babies.  Poor  child!  she  makes 
my  heart  ache  so  sometimes,  that  I  want  to  scream  the 
pain  away.  How  people  with  any  human  nature  left 
in  them,  can  look  at  her  and  listen  to  her  pitiful  cries 
to  her  dead  father,  and  her  dying  mother,  and  her  far- 
off  God,  and  then  believe  that  her  poor  beautiful  hands 
could  shed  blood,  passes  my  comprehension;  and  all 
such  ought  to  go  on  four  feet,  and  browse  like  other 
brutes.  I  am  poor,  but  I  vow  before  the  Lord,  that 
I  would  not  stand  in  your  shoes,  Mr.  Dunbar,  for  all 
the  gold  in  the  Government  vaults,  and  all  the 
diamonds  in  Brazil." 

Tears  were  dripping  on  the  costly  furs  about  Leo's 
neck,  as  she  moved  closer  to  the  attorney,  and  linked 
her  arm  in  his: 

"  Mr.  Dunbar,  we  will  detain  my  uncle  no  longer. 
Mrs.  Singleton  has  told  me,  that  one  of  her  children 
is  ill,  had  a  spasm  last  night;  and  since  maternal 
duties  are  most  imperative,  it  is  impossible  for  her  to 
give  undivided  attention  to  this  poor  sufferer.  If  you 
will  kindly  take  me  down  stairs,  I  will  call  at  the '  Shel 
tering  Arms',  and  secure  the  services  of  one  of  the  *  Sis 
ters'  who  is  an  experienced  nurse.  This  will  relieve  Mrs. 
Singleton,  and  we  shall  all  feel  assured  that  our  poor 
girl  has  careful  and  tender  watching,  and  every  com 
fort  that  anxious  sympathy  can  provide." 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  191 


CHAPTER  XII. 

TT  was  midnight  in  November,  keenly  cold,  but  wind 
less  ;  and  in  the  purplish  sky,  the  wintry  crown  of 
stars  burned  with  silvery  lustre,  unlike  the  golden 
glow  of  constellations  throbbing  in  sultry  summer, 
and  their  white  fires  sparkled,  flared  as  if  blown  by  in 
terstellar  storms.  The  large  family  of  Lazarus  hud 
dled  over  dying  embers  on  darkening  hearths,  and 
shivered  under  scanty  shreds  of  covering ;  but  the 
house  of  Dives  was  alight  with  the  soft  radiance  of 
wax  candles,  fragrant  with  the  warm  aroma  of  multi 
tudinous  exotics,  and  brimming  with  waves  of  riotous 
music,  on  which  merry-hearted  favorites  of  fashiob 
swam  in  measured  mazes.  The  "  reception"  given  by 
Judge  Parkman  to  the  Governor  and  his  staff,  on  the 

occasion  of  a  review  of  State  troops  at  X ,  was  at 

its  height ;  and  several  counties  had  been  skimmed  for 
the  creme  de  la  creme  of  most  desirable  representatives 
of  wit,  wealth  and  beauty. 

Miss  Gordon  had  arrived  unusually  late,  and  as  she 
entered  the  room,  leaning  on  her  uncle's  arm,  she  no 
ticed  that  Mr.  Dunbar  was  the  centre  of  a  distinguish 
ed  group  standing  under  the  chandelier.  He  was 
gently  fanning  his  hostess,  who  stood  beside  the  Gov 
ernor,  and  evidently  he  was  narrating  some  spicy  in 
cident,  or  uttering  some  pungent  witticism,  whereat  all 
laughed  heartily.  The  light  fell  full  on  his  fine  figure, 
which  rose  above  all  surrounding  personages,  and  was 
faultlessly  apparelled  in  evening  dress  ;  and  Leo's  heart 
filled  with  tender  pride,  at  the  consciousness  that  he 
was  all  her  own.  The  exigencies  of  etiquette  prevent- 


192  AT  THE  MEROY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

ed  for  more  than  an  hour  any  nearer  approach,  but 
when  Mr.  Dunbar  had  rendered  "  Caesar's  things"  to 
social  Caesar,  and  paid  tribute  of  bows,  smiles,  compli 
ments  and  persiflage  into  the  coffer  of  custom,  he  made 
his  way  through  the  throng,  to  the  spot  where  his 
betrothed  stood  resting  after  her  third  dance. 

"  Will  Miss  Gordon  grant  me  a  promenade  in  lieu  of 
the  dance,  which  misfortunes  conspired  to  prevent  me 
from  securing  earlier  in  the  evening  ?" 

He  drew  her  hand  under  his  arm,  and  his  eyes  ran 
with  proprietorial  freedom  over  the  details  of  her 
costume  ;  pale  blue  satin,  creamy  foam  of  white  lace, 
soft  sheen  of  large  pearls,  and  bouquet  of  exquisite  half 
blown  La  France  roses. 

Since  their  betrothal,  he  had  claimed  the  privilege 
of  sending  the  flowers  she  wore,  on  special  occasions; 
and  she  had  invariably  expressed  her  appreciation 
through  the  dainty  lips  of  a  boutonniere  arranged 
by  her  own  fingers.  Now  while  he  recognized  the 
roses  resting  on  her  corsage,  her  eyes  dwelt  on  her 
favorite  double  lilac  violets,  nestling  in  the  buttonhole 
of  his  coat. 

"  You  were  very  late  to-night.  I  loitered  in  ambush 
about  the  precincts  of  the  dressing-room,  hoping  for 
the  pleasure  of  conducting  you  down-stairs  ;  but '  the 
best  laid  schemes  o'  mice  and  men  gang  aft  aglee', 
and  I  became  the  luckless  prey  of  similar  tactics. 
That  marauding  Tomyris,  Mrs.  Halsey,  sallied  out  at 
the  head  of  her  column  of  daughters,  espied  me  lurk 
ing  behind  the  portiere,  and  proclaiming  her 
embarras  de  richesse,  '  paid  me  the  compliment '  of 
consigning  one  fair  campaigner,  Miss  Eloise  Hermione, 
to  my  care.  Fancy  the  strain  on  courtesy,  as  I  accept 
ed  my  *  quite  unexpected  g-ood  fortune'!" 

He  spoke  with  a  nervous  rapidity,  at  variance  with 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  193 

his  usual  imperturbable  deliberateness  of  manner, 
and  she  thought  she  had  never  seen  his  eyes  so  rest 
less  and  brilliant. 

"I  was  unusually  late,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the 
Governor  and  staff  dined  with  Uncle  Mitchell,  and  they 
lingered  so  long  over  their  cigars  and  wine,  that  I  was 
delayed  in  the  drawing-room,  waiting  for  them ;  con- 
squently  was  very  late  in  changing  my  dress.  We 
were  sorry  you  were  prevented  from  joining  us. 
Uncle  pronounced  the  dinner  a  perfect  success ;  and 
certainly  Governor  Glenbeigh  was  in  his  happiest 
mood,  and  particularly  agreeable." 

"  Given  his  hostess,  and  entourage,  could  he  possi 
bly  have  been  less  ?  Rumor's  hundred  tongues  wag 
with  the  announcement,  that  his  Excellency  is  no  longer 
inconsolable  for  his  wife's  death  ;  and  desires  to  testify 
to  the  happiness  of  conjugal  relations,  by  a  renewal  of 
the  sweet  bondage;  a  curiously  subtile  compliment  to 
the  deceased.  If  I  may  be  pardoned  the  enormity  of 
the  heresy,  I  think  Shakspeare  blundered  supremely, 
when  he  gave  lago's  soul  to  a  man.  Diabolical  cun 
ning,  shrewd  malevolence  pure  and  simple,  armed  with 
myriads  of  stings  for  hypodermic  incisions  that  poison 
a  man's  blood,  should  be  appropriately  costumed  in  a 
moss-green  velvet  robe,  should  wear  frizzled  bangs  as 
yellow  as  yonder  bouquet  of  Marechal  Neils,  so  sugges 
tive  of  the  warning  flag  flying  over  pest-houses  !  " 

"  It  is  very  evident  you  are  not  equally  generous  in 
surrendering  the  amiability  of  Timon,  along  with  the 
depravity  of  lago,  to  the  arsenal  of  feminine  weapons. 
What  corroding  mildew  of  discontent  has  fallen  from 
Mrs.  Parkman's  velvet  dress,  and  rusted  the  bright 
blade  of  your  chivalry  ?" 

"  The  very  breath  of  lago,  filling  my  ears  and  fir 
ing  my  heart  with  the  architectural  details  of  her 


19-4  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

coveted  'castle  in  Spain.1  Glenbeigh  is  her  cousin. 
The  ladder  of  his  preferment  is  set  up  before  my  eyes, 
and  his  Excellency  springs  up  the  rounds,  from  Gov 
ernor  to  Senatorship,  thence  to  a  place  in  the  Cabinet, 
certainly  to  an  important  foreign  embassy ;  where,  in 
the  eternal  fitness  of  things,  somebody,  somebody  with 
tender  brown  eyes  like  a  thrush's,  and  the  voice  of  a 
siren,  and  the  red  lips  of  Hebe— will  be  invited  to  reign 
as  Vambassadrice  !  If  I  am  not  as  mad  with  jealous 
despair  as  Othello,  attribute  my  escape  either  to  a 
sublime  faith  in  your  adorable  constancy  and  incor 
ruptibility,  or  to  my  own  colossal  vanity,  fatuous  be 
yond  absolution." 

He  pressed  her  arm  closer  to  his  side,  and  covered 
with  one  hand  the  gloved  fingers  resting  on  his  sleeve ; 
then  added : 

"  You  must  permit  me  to  congratulate  you  upon 
your  beautiful  toilette  to-night.  The  harmony  of  the 
dress,  and  the  grace  of  the  wearer  leave  nothing  to  be 
desired.  Although  debarred  the  pleasure  of  dining 
with  you,  I  had  hoped  to  enter,  at  least,  with  the  coffee, 
but  the  freight  train  upon  which  I  returned,  was 
delayed  ;  and  I  had  no  choice  but  to  await  your  arrival 
here." 

He  indulged  so  rarely  in  verbal  compliments,  that 
she  flushed  with  profound  gratification  at  the  fervor  of 
his  tone. 

"  I  am  glad  you  like  my  dress,  to  which  your  roses 
lend  the  loveliest  garniture.  I  was  not  aware  that 

X could  furnish  at  this  season  such  superb  La 

France  buds.     Where  did  you  find  them  ?" 

"  They  travelled  several  hundred  miles,  for  the  priv 
Jege  of  nestling  against  my  Leo's  heart." 

Spartan  thieves  are  not  the  only  heroic  sufferers 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  195 

who  smile  and  make  no  moan,  clasping  close  the  hidden 
fangs  ravening  on  their  vitals. 

'  As  you  mentioned  in  your  note  that  very  import 
ant  business  had  called  you  unexpectedly  away,  I  hope 
your  mission  proved  both  pleasant  and  successful." 

A  shadow  drifted  over  his  countenance,  like  that- 
cast  by  some  summer  cloud  long  becalmed,  which  sets 
sail  before  a  sudden  gust. 

' '  Only  a  modicum  of  success  to  counterbalance  the 
disagreeable  features  of  a  journey  in  a  freight  train 
caboose." 

"  Why  do  you  hazard  that  dangerous  schedule,  in 
stead  of  waiting  for  the  passenger  express  ?" 

"  Business  exigencies  narrow  the  limits  of  choice  ; 
moreover,  had  I  waited  for  the  express,  I  should  have 
missed  the  coveted  pleasure  of  this  meeting  with  you. 
The  rosy  glamour  of  happy  anticipation  conquers  even 
the  discomfort  of  a  freight  caboose." 

Did  she  suspect  that  some  sullen  undercurrent 
of  intense  feeling  drove  these  eddying  foam  bells  of 
flattery  in  tothe  stream  of  conversation  ;  or  was  her 
reply  merely  a  chance  ricochet  shot,  more  accurately 
effective  than  direct  fire  ? 

"  This  afternoon  I  had  a  note  from  Sister  Serena, 
asking  for  a  few  articles  conducive  to  the  comfort  of  a 
sick  room ;  and  I  really  cannot  determine  whether  we 
should  feel  regret,  or  relief  at  the  tidings  that  that 
unfortunate  girl — can  scarcely — " 

"  Spare  me  the  Egyptian  mummy  at  my  feast !  The 
memento  mori  when  I  would  fain  forget.  Let  me 
inhale  the  perfume  of  your  roses,  without  hearing  that 
possibly  a  worm  battens  on  their  petals.  Will  you 
ride  with  me  to-morrow  afternoon  ?" 

"  I  am  sorry  that  an  engagement  to  dine  will  pre 
vent,  as  the  afternoons  are  so  short." 


196  AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

"  Are  you  going  to  the  Percy's  ?" 

"  Yes.     Will  you  not  be  there  ?" 

"  Too  bad  !  I  have  just  declined  attending  that 
dinner,  because  I  had  planned  the  horseback  ride. 
Formerly  fate  seemed  to  smile  upon  me ;  now  she 
shows  herself  a  scowling  capricious  beldam.  I  have 
lost  this  evening,  waiting  to  see  you,  and  now,  I  must 
steal  away  unnoticed  ;  because  of  an  important  matter 
which  admits  of  no  delay.  Have  you  promised  to 
dance  with  Mayfield?  Here  he  comes.  Good-night, 
my  dear  Leo,  expect  to  see  me  at  '  The  Lilacs  '  at  the 
earliest  possible  moment." 

Unobserved  he  made  his  escape,  and  hurried  away. 
At  a  livery  stable  he  stopped  to  order  his  horse  saddled, 
and  brought  to  his  door,  and  a  few  moments  later, 
stood  before  the  grate  in  his  law  office,  where  the  red 
glow  of  the  coals  had  paled  under  ashy  veils.  From 
the  letter-rack  over  the  mantel,  he  took  a  note  con 
taining  only  a  line  : 

"  She  has  reached  the  crisis.     We  have  no  hope. 

"  SINGLETON." 

In  the  hot  embers,  it  smoked,  shrivelled,  disap 
peared  ;  and  the  attorney  crossed  his  arms  over  his 
chest  to  crush  back  the  heavy  sigh  struggling  for 
escape.  The  long  overcoat  buttoned  from  throat  to 
knee,  enhanced  his  height,  and  upon  his  stern,  hand 
some  features  had  settled  an  expression  of  sorrowful 
perplexity;  while  his  keen  eyes  showed  the  feverish  rest 
lessness  that,  despite  his  efforts,  betrayed  heartache. 
Above  the  heads  of  the  gay  throng  he  had  just  left,  he 
had  seen  all  that  evening  a  slender  white  hand  beck 
oning  to  him  from  the  bars  of  a  dungeon  ;  and  domi 
nating  the  music  of  the  ball  room,  the  laughter  of  its 
dancers,  had  risen  the  desperate,  accusing  cry  : 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  107 

"  You  have  ruined  my  life  I" 

Was  it  true,  that  his  hand  had  dashed  a  foul  blot  of 
shame  upon  the  fair  pure  page  of  a  girl's  existence, 
and  written  there  the  fatal  finis  ?  If  she  died,  could 
he  escape  the  moral  responsibility  of  having  been  her 
murderer  ?  Amid  the  ebb  and  flow  of  conflicting  emo 
tions,  one  grim  fact  stared  at  him  with  sardonic  signifi 
cance.  If  he  had  ruined  her  life,  retribution  promptly 
exacted  a  costly  forfeit ;  and  his  happiness  was  des 
tined  to  share  her  grave. 

He  neither  analyzed  nor  understood  the  nature  of 
tho  strange  fascination  which  he  had  ineffectually 
striven  to  resist ;  and  he  ground  his  teeth,  and  clinched 
his  hands  with  impotent  rage,  under  the  stinging  and 
humiliating  consciousness  that  his  unfortunate  victim 
had  grappled  his  heart  to  hers,  and  would  hold  it  for 
ever  in  bondage.  No  other  woman  had  ever  stirred 
the  latent  and  unsuspected  depths  of  his  tenderness , 
but  at  the  touch  of  her  hand,  the  flood  burst  forth 
sweeping  aside  every  barrier  of  selfish  interest,  defy 
ing  the  ramparts  of  worldly  pride.  Guilty  or  inno 
cent,  he  loved  her;  and  the  wretchedness  he  had 
inflicted,  was  recoiling  swiftly  upon  himself. 

Unbuttoning  his  overcoat,  he  took  from  an  inside 
pocket,  the  torn  half  of  a  large  envelope,  and  unlock 
ing  the  drawer  of  his  desk,  hunted  for  a  similar  frag 
ment.  Spreading  them  out  before  him,  he  fitted  the 
zigzag  edges  with  great  nicety,  and  there  lay  the 
well-known  superscription  :  ( '  Last  Will  and  Testament 
of  Robert  Luke  Darrington.''  One  corner  of  the  last 
found  bit  was  brown  and  mud-stained,  but  the  hand 
writing  was  in  perfect  preservation.  As  he  stooped 
to  put  it  all  back  in  a  secret  drawer,  something  fell  on 
the  floor.  He  picked  up  the  dainty  boutonniere  of  pale 
sweet  violets,  and  looked  at  it,  while  a  frown  dark- 


198  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

ened  his  countenance,  as  though  he  recognized 
some  plenipotentiary  pleading  for  fealty  to  a  sacred 
compact. 

"  Poor  Leo  !  how  little  she  suspects  disloyalty 
How  infinite  is  her  trust,  and  what  a  besotted  ingrate 
lam!" 

He  tossed  the  accusing  flowers  into  the  grate,  took 
his  riding- whip  and  went  down  to  the  door,  where  his 
horse  was  champing  the  bit,  and  pawing  with 
impatience.  Along  the  deserted  streets,  out  of  the 
sleeping  town,  he  rode  toward  the  long  stone  bridge 
that  spanned  the  winding  river.  When  he  had 
reached  the  centre,  his  horse  darted  aside,  because  of 
the  sudden  leap  of  a  black  cat  from  the  coping  of  the 
nearest  pier,  whence  she  sped  on,  keeping  just  ahead  of 
him .  The  spectral  sickle  of  a  waning  moon  hung  on 
the  edge  of  the  sky,  and  up  and  down  the  banks  of 
the  stream  floated  phantoms  of  silvery  mist,  here 
covering  the  water  with  impalpable  wreaths,  and 
there  drifting  away  to  enable  Andromeda  to  print  her 
starry  image  on  the  glassy  surface. 

Behind  stretched  the  city,  marked  by  lines  of  gas 
lamps  ;  in  front  rose  the  hill  clothed  with  forests ;  and 
frowning  down  upon  the  rider,  the  huge  shadow  of  the 
dismal  dungeon  crouched  like  a  stealthy  beast  ready  to 
spring  upon  him.  Dark  as  the  deeds  of  its  inmates, 
the  mass  of  stone  blotted  the  sky,  save  in  one  corner, 
where  a  solitary  light  shone  through  iron  lattice  work. 
Was  it  a  beacon  of  hope,  or  did  the  rays  fall  on 
features  cold  under  the  kiss  of  death  ? 

Spurring  his  horse  up  the  rocky  hill,  Mr.  Dunbar 
was  greeted  by  the  baying  of  two  bloodhounds  within 
the  enclosure  ;  and  soon  after,  Mr.  Singleton  conduct 
ed  him  up  the  steps  leading  to  the  room  where  Beryl 
had  been  placed. 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  199 

"  She  is  alive  ;  that  is  all.  The  doctor  said  she  could 
not  last  till  midnight,  but  it  is  now  half-past  one ;  and 
my  wife  has  never  lost  hope.  She  has  sent  the  nurse 
off  to  get  some  sleep,  and  you  will  find  Susie  in 
charge." 

The  hazel  eyes  of  the  gaoler's  wife  were  humid  with 
tears,  as  she  glanced  up  at  the  attorney,  and  motioned 
him  to  the  low  chair  she  vacated. 

"  I  knew  you  would  come,  and  when  I  heard  you 
gallop  across  the  bridge,  I  sent  Sister  Serena  off  to 
bed.  There  is  nothing  to  be  done  now,  but  watch  and 
pray.  If  she  ever  wakes  in  this  world  she  will  be 
rational,  and  she  will  get  well.  The  nurse  thinks  she 
will  pass  away  in  this  stupor ;  but  I  have  faith  that 
she  will  not  die,  until  she  clears  her  name." 

Nature  makes  some  women  experts  in  the  fine  art  of 
interpreting  countenance  and  character,  and  by  a 
mysterious  and  unerring  divination,  Mrs.  Singleton 
knew  that  her  visitor  desired  no  companion  in  his 
vigils  ;  hence,  after  flitting  about  the  room  for  a  few 
moments,  she  added  : 

"  If  you  will  sit  here  awhile,  I  can  look  after  my 
babies.  Should  any  change  occur,  tap  at  my  door  ;  I 
shall  not  be  long  away." 

What  a  melancholy  change  in  the  sleeper,  during 
i  he  few  days  of  his  absence;  how  much  thinner  the 
iiollow  cheek,  how  sunken  the  closed  eyes;  how 
indescribably  sharpened  the  outlines  of  each  feature. 
The  face  which  had  formerly  suggested  some  marble 
statue,  had  now  the  finer  tracery  as  of  an  exquisite 
cameo;  and  oblivion  of  all  earthly  ills  had  set  there 
the  seal  of  a  perfect  peace.  She  lay  so  motionless,  with 
aer  hands  on  her  breast,  that  Mr.  Dunbar  bent  his  head 
close  to  hers,  to  listen  to  her  respiration;  but  no 
sound  was  audible,  and  when  his  ear  touched  her  lips, 


200  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

their  coldness  sent  a  shiver  of  horror  through  his 
stalwart  frame.  Pure  as  the  satiu  folds  of  an  annun 
ciation  lily  pearled  witb  dew,  was  the  smooth  girlish 
brow,  where  exhaustion  hung  heavy  drops;  and  about 
her  temples  the  damp  hair  clung  in  glossy  rings, 
framing-  the  pallid,  deathlike  face. 

At  her  wrist,  the  fluttering  thread  eluded  his  grasp, 
and  kneeling  beside  the  cot,  he  laid  his  head  down 
on  her  breast,  dreading  to  find  no  pulsation;  but 
slow  and  faint,  he  felt  the  tired  heart  beat  feebly 
against  his  cheek  ;  and  tears  of  joy,  that  reason  could 
neither  explain  nor  justify,  welled  up  and  filled  his 
eyes.  Leaning  his  head  on  her  pillow,  he  took  one 
hand  between  both  his,  and  watched  the  profound 
sleep  that  seemed  indeed  twin  sister  of  death. 

Softened  by  distance  came  the  deep  mellow  sound  of 
the  city  clock  striking  two.  Down  among  the  willows 
flinging  the  river  bank,  some  lonely  water-fowl  utter 
ed  its  plaintive  cry,  whereat  the  bloodhounds  bayed 
hoarsely ;  then  velvet-sandalled  silence  laid  her  sooth 
ing  touch  upon  the  world,  and  softly  took  all  nature 
into  her  restful  arms. 

In  the  searching  communion  which  he  held  with  his 
own  heart,  during  that  solemn  watch,  Mr.  Dunbar 
thrust  aside  all  quibbles  and  disguises,  and  accepted 
as  unalterable,  two  conclusions. 

She  was  innocent  of  crime,  and  he  loved  her ;  but 
she  knew  who  had  committed  the  murder,  and  would 
suffer  rather  than  betray  the  criminal.  The  con 
jecture  that  she  was  shielding  a  lover,  was  accom 
panied  by  so  keen  a  pang  of  jealous  pain,  that  it 
allowed  him  no  room  to  doubt  the  nature  or  intensity 
of  the  feeling  which  she  had  inspired.  In  her  wan 
loveliness,  she  seemed  as  stainless  as  a  frozen  snow 
drop,  and  while  his  covetous  gaze  dwelt  upon  her,  he 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  201 

felt  that  he  could  lay  her  in  her  coffin  now,  with  less 
suffering,  than  see  her  live  to  give  her  brave  heart  to 
any  other  man.  To  lift  her  spotless  and  un trampled 
from  the  mire  of  foul  suspicion,  where  his  hand 
had  hurled  her,  was  the  supreme  task  to  which  he 
proposed  to  devote  his  energies;  but  selfishness 
was  the  sharpest  spur;  she  must  be  his,  only  his, 
otherwise  he  would  prefer  to  see  her  in  the  arms  of 
death. 

So  the  night  waned ;  and  twice,  when  the  war 
den's  wife  stole  to  the  door,  he  lifted  his  head  and 
waved  her  back.  When  the  clock  in  the  tower  struck 
four,  he  felt  a  slight  quiver  in  the  fingers  lying  within 
his  palm,  and  Beryl's  face  turned  on  the  pillow,  bring 
ing  her  head  against  his  shoulder.  Was  it  the  magnet 
of  his  touch  drawing  her  unconsciously  toward  him, 
or  merely  the  renewal  of  strength,  attested  already  by 
the  quickened  throb  of  the  pulse  that  beat  under  his 
clasp  ?  By  degrees  her  breathing  became  audible  to 
his  strained  ear,  and  once  a  sigh,  such  as  escapes  a 
tired  child,  told  that  nature  was  rallying  her  physical 
forces,  and  that  the  tide  was  turning.  Treacherous  to 
his  plighted  troth,  and  to  the  trusting  woman  whom 
he  had  assiduously  wooed  and  won,  he  yielded  to  the 
hungry  yearning  that  possessed  him,  and  suddenly 
pressed  his  lips  to  Beryl's  beautiful  mouth.  Under 
that  fervent  touch,  consciousness  came  back,  and  the 
lids  lifted,  the  dull  eyes  looked  into  his  with  drowsy 
wonder.  Stepping  swiftly  to  the  door  which  stood 
ajar,  he  met  Mrs.  Singleton,  and  put  his  hand  on  her 
shoulder. 

"  She  is  awake,  and  will  soon  be  fully  conscious,  but 
perfect  quiet  is  the  only  safeguard  against  relapse. 
When  she  remembers,  leave  her  as  much  alone  as  pos 
sible,  and  answer  no  questions." 


202  AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

Holding  her  baby  on  her  breast,  Mrs.  Singleton 
whispered  : 

"  Put  out  the  lamp,  so  that  she  can  see  nothing  to 
remind  her." 

As  he  took  his  hat,  and  put  his  hand  on  the  lamp, 
he  looked  back  at  the  cot,  and  saw  the  solemn  eyes 
fixed  upon  him.  He  extinguished  the  light,  and  passed 
into  the  room  where  Susie  Singleton  stood  waiting. 

"  She  will  not  know  Sister  Serena,  and  for  a  day  or 
two  I  will  keep  out  of  sight  when  she  is  awake.  Mr. 
Dunbar,  God  has  done  His  part,  now  see  that  you  do 
yours.  Have  you  found  out  who  '  Kicordo '  is  ?" 

"  Certainly,  it  is  a  thing ;  not  a  person.  As  yet  the 
word  has  given  no  aid." 

"  Then  you  have  discovered  nothing  new  during  your 
absence  ?" 

"  Yes,  I  have  found  the  missing  half  of  the  envelope 
which  contained  General  Darrington's  will;  but  ask 
me  no  questions  at  present.  For  her  sake,  I  must 
work  quietly.  Send  me  a  note  at  twelve  o'clock,  that 
I  may  know  her  exact  condition,  and  the  opinion  of 
the  doctor.  Has  nothing  been  heard  from  Dyce  ?" 

"  As  far  as  I  know,  not  a  syllable." 

They  shook  hands,  and  once  more  Mr.  Dunbar  sprang 
into  his  saddle.  Overhead  the  constellations  glowed 
like  crown  jewels  on  black  velvet,  but  along  the  east 
ern  horizon,  where  the  morning-star  burned,  the  sky 
had  blanched ;  and  the  air  was  keen  with  the  additional 
iciness  that  always  precedes  the  dawn.  Earth  was 
powdered  with  rime,  waiting  to  kindle  into  dia 
monds  when  the  sun  smote  its  flower  crystals,  and 
the  soft  banners  of  white  fog  trailed  around  the  gray 
arches  and  mossy  piers  of  the  old  bridge.  At  a  quick 
gallop  Mr.  Dunbar  crossed  the  river,  passed  through 
the  heart  of  the  city,  and  slackened  his  pace  only  when 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS  303 

he  found  himself  opposite  the  cemetery,  on  the  road 
leading  to  "Elm  Bluff."  As  the  iron  gate  closed  be 
hind  him,  he  walked  his  horse  up  the  long  avenue,  and 
when  he  fastened  him  to  the  metal  ring  in  the  ancient 
poplar,  which  stood  sentinel  before  the  deserted  house, 
the  deep  orange  glow  that  paves  the  way  for  coming 
suns,  had  dyed  all  the  sky,  blotting  out  the  stars  ;  and 
the  new  day  smiled  upon  a  sleeping  world.  The  pea 
cock  perched  upon  the  balustrade  of  the  terrace, 
greeted  him  vociferously,  and  after  some  moments  his 
repeated  knock  was  answered  by  the  cautious  opening 
of  the  front  door,  and  Bedney 's  gray  head  peered  out. 

"  Lord — Mars  Lennox  !  Is  it  you  ?  What  next  ? 
'Pears  to  me,  there's  nothing  left  to  happen  ;  but  how- 
somever,  if  ther's  more  to  come,  tell  us  what's  to  pay 
now  ?" 

"  Bedney,  I  want  you  to  help  me  in  a  little  matter, 
where  your  services  may  be  very  valuable ;  and  as  it 
concerns  your  old  master's  family,  I  am  sure  you  will 
gladly  enter  into  my  plan — " 

"  Bless  your  soul,  Mars  Lennox,  you  are  too  good  a 
lie-yer  to  be  shore  of  anything,  but  the  undertaker  and 
the  tax  collector.  I  am  so  old  and  broke  down  in 
sperrits,  that  you  will  s'cuse  me  from  undertaking  of 
an}^  jobs,  where  I  should  be  obleeged  to  pull  one  foot 
out'en  the  grave  before  I  could  start.  I  ain't  ekal  to 
hard  work  now,  and  like  the  rest  of  wore-out  stock,  I 
am  only  worth  my  grass  in  old  fields." 

Sniffing  danger,  Bedney  warily  resolved  to  decline 
all  overtures,  by  taking  refuge  in  his  decrepitude  ;  but 
the  attorney's  steady  prolonged  gaze  disconcerted  him. 

"  You  have  no  interest,  then,  in  discovering  the 
wretch  who  murdered  your  master  ?  That  is  rather 
suspicious." 

"What  ain't  'spicious  to  you,  Mars  Lennox?    It 


204:  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUB. 

comes  as  natchal  to  you  to  'spicion  folks,  as  to  eat  or 
sleep,  and  it's  your  trade.  You  believe  I  know  some 
thing  that  I  haven't  tole ;  but  I  swear  I  done  give  up 
everything  to  Mars  Alfred ;  and  if  my  heart  was 
turned  inside  out,  and  scraped  with  a  fine-tooth  comb, 
it  wouldn't  be  no  cleaner  than  what  it  is.  I  know  if  I 
was  lying  you  would  ketch  me,  and  I  should  own 
up  quick  ;  'cause  your  match  doesn't  go  about  in  hu 
man  flesh ;  but  all  the  lancets  and  all  the  doctors  can't 
git  no  blood  out'en  a  turnup." 

"  You  are  quite  willing,  then,  to  see  General  Dar- 
rington's  granddaughter  suffer  for  the  crime  ?" 

"  'Fore  Gord  I  Mars  Lennox,  you  don't  tote  fair ! 
'Pears  to  me  you  are  riding  two  horses.  Which  side 
is  you  on  ?" 

"  Always  on  the  side  of  justice  and  truth,  and  it  is 
to  help  your  poor  young  mistress  that  I  came  to  see 
you  ;  but  it  seems  you  are  too  superannuated  to  stretch 
out  your  hand  and  save  her." 

"  Ain't  you  aiming  to  prove  she  killed  old  marster  ? 
That's  what  you  sot  out  to  do  ;  and  tarrapin's  claws 
are  slippery,  compared  to  your  grip,  when  you  take 
holt." 

The  old  negro  stood  with  his  white  head  thrown  back, 
and  unfeigned  perplexity  printed  on  this  wrinkled  feat 
ures,  while  he  scanned  the  swart  face,  where  a  heavy 
frown  gathered. 

'  *  I  set  out  this  morning  to  find  a  faithful,  old  family 
servant,  whose  devotion  has  never  before  been  ques 
tioned  ;  but  evidently  I  have  wasted  my  confidence  as 
well  as  my  time.  Where  is  Dyce  ?  She  is  worth  a 
hundred  superannuated  cowards." 

<•  Don't  call  no  names,  Mars  Lennox.  If  there's  one 
mean  thing  I  nachally  despises  as  a  stunmn'  insult, 
it's  being  named  white-livered  ;  and  my  Cornfederate 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  205 

record  is  jest  as  good  as  if  I  wore  three  gilt  stars  on 
my  coat  collar.  You  might  say  I  was  a  liar  and  a 
thief,  and  maybe  I  would  take  it  as  a  joke  ;  but  don't 
call  Bedney  Darrington  no  coward  !  It  bruises  my 
feelins  mor'n  Fie  stand.  Lem'me  tell  you  the  Gord's 
truth ;  argufying  with  lie-yers  is  wuss  than  shootin'  at 
di-dappers,  and  that  is  sport  I  don't  hanker  after.  I 
ain't  spry  enuff  to  keep  up  with  the  devil,  when  you 
are  whipping  him  around  the  stump ;  and  I  ain't  such 
a  forsaken  id  jut  as  to  jump  in  the  dark.  Tell  me 
straight  out  what  you  want  me  to  do.  Tote  fair, 
Mars  Lennox." 

"  I  am  about  to  offer  a  reward  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars,  and  I  thought  I  would  allow  you  privately 
the  opportunity  of  securing  the  money,  before  I  made 
it  public.  Where  is  Dyce  ?" 

"  You  might  as  well  ax  the  man  in  the  moon.  The 
only  satisfaction  she  gin  me  when  she  left  home,  was 
— she  was  gwine  to  New  York  to  hunt  for  Miss  Ellie. 
I  tole  her  she  was  heading  for  a  wild  goose  chase,  and 
her  answer  signified  she  was  leaving  all  of  them  fowls 
behind.  If  she  was  here,  she'd  be  only  a  '  clean  chip 
in  your  homny  pot ';  for  she  wouldn't  never  touch  your 
job  with  a  forty-foot  pole,  and  what's  more,  she'd 
tie  my  hands.  I  ain't  afeard  of  my  ole  'oman,  but  I 
respects  her  too  high  to  cross  her ;  and  if  ever  you  git 
married,  you  will  find  its  a  mighty  good  rule  to  '  let 
sleeping  dogs  lay '.  Who  do  you  expect  me  to  ketch 
for  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  ?" 

"A  lame  negro  man,  about  medium  size,  who 
was  seen  carrying  a  bundle  on  the  end  of  a  stick,  and 
who  was  hanging  about  the  railroad  station  on  the 
night  of  General  Darrington's  death.  He  probably 
lives  on  some  plantation  south  of  town,  as  he  was 
travelling  in  that  direction,  after  the  severe  storm  that 


206 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


night.  I  want  him,  not  because  he  had  any  connection 
with  your  master's  murder,  but  to  obtain  from  him  a 
description  of  a  strange  white  man,  whom  he  directed 
to  the  railroad  water-tank.  If  you  can  discover  that 
lame  negro,  and  bring-  him  to  my  office,  I  will  pay  you 
two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  and  give  him  a  new 
suit  of  clothes.  The  only  hope  for  General  Darrington's 
granddaughter  is  in  putting  that  man  on  the  witness 
stand,  to  corroborate  her  statement  of  a  conversation 
which  she  heard.  This  is  Wednesday.  I  will  give  you 
until  Saturday  noon  to  report.  If  you  do  not  succeed 
I  shall  then  advertise.  If  you  wish  to  save  Miss  Bren- 
tano,  help  me  to  find  that  man." 

He  swung  himself  into  the  saddle,  and  rode  away, 
leaving  Bedney  staring  after  him,  in  pitiable  dubiety 
as  to  his  own  line  of  duty. 

"Wimmen  are  as  hard  to  live  peaceable  with  as 
a  hatful  of  hornets,  but  the'r  brains  works  spryer  even 
than  the'r  tongues  ;  and  they  do  think  as  much  faster 
'an  a  man,  as  a  express  train  beats  er  eight  ox-team. 
Dyce  is  the  safetest  sign-post !  If  she  was  only  here 
now,  I  couldn't  botch  things,  for  she  sees  clare  through 
a  mill-stone,  and  she'd  shove  me  the  right  way.  If  I 
go  a  huntin',  I  may  flounder  into  a  steel  trap;  if  I  stand 
still,  wuss  may  happen.  Mars  Lennox  is  too  much 
for  me.  I  wouldn't  trust  him  no  further  'n  I  would  a 
fat  possum.  I  am  afeard  of  his  oily  tongue.  He  sot 
out  to  hang  that  poor  young  gal,  and  now  he  is  willing 
to  pay  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  to  show  the  court 
he  was  a  idjut  and  a  slanderer !  I  ain't  gwine  to  set 
down  on  no  such  spring  gun  as  that !  Dyce  ought  to 
be  here.  When  Mars  Lennox  turns  sumersets  in  the 
court,  before  the  judge,  I  don't  want  to  belong  to  his 
circus — but,  oh  Lord  !  If  I  could  only  find  out  which 
side  he  raily  is  on?" 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  207 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

IpvUBING  the  early  stages  of  her  convalescence, 
•"-^  Beryl,  though  perfectly  rational,  asked  no  ques 
tions,  made  no  reference  to  her  gloomy  surroundings 
and  maintained  a  calm,  but  mournful  taciturnity,  very 
puzzling  to  Mrs.  Singleton,  who  ascribed  it  at  first  to 
mental  prostration,  which  rendered  her  comparatively 
obtuse ;  but  ere  long,  a  different  solution  presented 
itself,  and  she  marvelled  at  the  silence  with  which  a 
desperate  battle  was  fought.  With  returning  conscious 
ness,  the  prisoner  had  grasped  the  grievous  burden  of 
her  fate,  unflinchingly  lifted  and  bound  it  upon  her 
shoulders ;  and  though  she  reeled  and  bent  under  it, 
made  no  moan,  indulged  no  regret,  uttered  no  invective. 

One  cold  dismal  day,  wken  not  a  rift  was  visible  in 
the  leaden  sky,  and  a  slanting  gray  veil  of  sleety  rain 
darkened  the  air  and  pelted  the  dumb,  shivering  earth, 
Beryl  sat  on  the  side  of  her  cot,  with  her  feet  resting 
on  the  round  of  a  chair,  and  her  hands  clasped  at  the 
back  of  her  head.  Her  eyes  remarkably  large  from 
the  bluish  circles  illness  had  worn  beneath  them,  were 
fixed  in  a  strained,  unwinking,  far-away  gaze  upon  the 
window,  where  black  railing  showed  the  outside  world 
as  through  some  grim  St.  Lawrence's  gridiron. 

From  time  to  time  the  warden's  wife  glanced  from 
her  sewing  toward  the  motionless  figure,  reluctant  to 
obtrude  upon  her  revery,  yet  equally  loath  to  leave  her 
a  prey  to  melancholy  musing.  After  a  while,  she  saw 
the  black  lashes  quiver,  and  fall  upon  the  waxen  cheeks, 
then,  as  she  watched,  great  tears  glittered,  rolled 
slowly,  dripped  softly,  but  there  was  no  sigh,  no 


208  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

sound  of  sobs.  Leaning  closer,  she  laid  her  arm  across 
the  girl's  knee. 

"What  is  it,  dearie  ?    Tell  me." 

There  was  no  immediate  reply ;  when  Beryl  spoke, 
her  voice  was  calm,  low  and  measured,  as  in  one  where 
all  the  springs  of  youth,  hope,  and  energy  are  irrepar 
ably  broken. 

"  Every  Gethsemane  has  its  strengthening  Angels. 
The  agony  of  the  Garden  brought  them  to  Christ.  I 
thank  God,  mine  did  not  fail  me.  If  they  had  not 
come,  I  think  I  could  never  have  borne  this  last  misery 
that  earth  can  inflict  upon  me.  My  mother  is  dead." 

' l  Why  distress  yourself  with  sad  forebodings  ? 
Weakness  makes  you  despondent,  but  you  must  try  to 
hope  for  the  best ;  and  I  daresay  in  a  few  days,  you 
will  have  good  news  from  your  mother." 

' 1 1  shook  hands  with  Hope,  and  in  her  place  sits  the 
only  companion  who  will  abide  with  me  during  the 
darkness  that  is  coming  on — Patience,  pale-browed, 
meek-eyed,  sad-lipped  Patience.  If  I  can  only  keep 
my  hold  upon  her  skirts,  till  the  end.  To  me,  no  good 
news  can  ever  come.  As  long  as  mother  lived,  I  had 
an  incentive  to  struggle  :  now  I  am  alone,  and  they 
who  thirst  for  my  blood  are  welcome  to  take  it  speed 
ily.  I  know  my  mother  is  dead  ;  I  have  seen  her." 

"  Wake  up,  child.  Your  brain  is  weak  yet  and  full 
of  queer  delirious  visions,  and  when  you  doze,  realities 
and  dreams  are  all  jumbled  together.  You  have  a 
deal  too  much  sense  to  harbor  any  crazy  spiritual 
crankiness.  Take  your  wine,  and  lie  down.  You  have 
sat  up  too  long,  and  tired  yourself." 

"No.  I  have  wanted  to  tell  you  for  several  days, 
because  you  have  been  so  good,  and  I  have  heard  you 
praying  here  at  night  that  God  would  be  merciful  to 
me ;  but  I  waited  until  I  had  strength  to  be  calm.  I 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  209 


have  lain  here  day  after  day,  and  night  after  night, 
face  to  face  with  desolation  and  despair,  and  now  I  have 
grown  accustomed  to  the  horror.  I  know  that  in  this 
world  there  is  no  escape,  no  help,  no  hope  ;  so — the 
worst  is  over.  When  you  consent  to  fate,  and  stretch 
out  your  arms  to  meet  death,  there  is  no  more  terror, 
only  waiting,  weary  waiting.  I  am  not  superstitious, 
and  unfortunately  I  am  not  one  of  the  victims  of  de 
mentia,  whose  spectral  woes  are  born  of  disordered 
brains.  I  am  sadly  sane ;  and  what  I  am  about  to  tell 
you  is  no  figment  of  feverish  fancy.  I  do  not  know 
how  long  I  have  been  sick,  but  one  night  great  peace 
and  ease  came  suddenly  upon  me.  I  swung  in  some 
soft  tender  arms,  close  to  the  gates  of  Release,  and  the 
iron  bars  melted  away,  and  my  soul  was  borne  toward 
the  wonderful  light ;  but  suddenly  a  shock,  a  strange 
thrill  ran  through  me,  and  the  bars  rose  again,  and 
the  light  faded.  Then  all  at  once  my  father  and  my 
mother  stood  beside  me,  bent  over  me.  Father  said  : 
'  Courage,  my  daughter,  courage !  Bear  your  cross  a 
little  longer.'  My  mother  wept,  and  said,  '  My  good 
little  girl.  So  faithful,  so  true.  I  died  in  peace,  trust 
ing  your  promise.  For  my  sake  can  you  endure  till 
the  end  ?'  They  faded  away ;  and  sorrow  sat  down 
once  more,  clutching  my  heart ;  and  death,  the  Angel 
who  keeps  the  key  of  the  Gate  of  Release,  turned  his 
back  upon  me.  I  had  almost  escaped  ;  I  was  close  to 
the  other  world,  and  I  was  conscious.  I  saw  my 
mother's  spirit;  it  was  no  delirious  fancy.  I  know 
that  she  is  dead.  Even  in  the  world  of  the  released, 
f-;hc  grieves  over  the  awful  consequences  of  my 
obedience  to  her  wishes.  Mortal  agony  of  body  and 
soul  brings  us  so  near  to  the  borderland,  that  we  have 
^Mmpses;  and  those  we  love,  lean  across  the  bound 
ary  line  and  compassionate  us.  So  my  Gethsemane 


210  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

called  down  the  one  strengthening  Angel  of  all  the 
heavenly  hosts,  who  had  most  power  to  comfort  my 
heart,  and  gird  me  for  my  fate,  my  father,  my  noble 
father.  God,  in  pity,  sent  him  to  exhort  me  to  bear 
my  cross  bravely." 

The  low  solemn  voice  ceased,  and  in  the  silence  that 
followed,  only  the  dull  patter  of  the  rain,  and  the  per 
sistent  purring  of  a  kitten  curled  up  on  the  cot  were 
audible.  Mrs.  Singleton  finished  the  buttonhole  in 
Dick's  apron,  and  threaded  her  needle. 

"  If  it  comforts  you  at  all  to  believe  that,  I  have  no 
right  to  say  anything." 

"  You  think,  however,  that  I  am  the  victim  of  some 
hallucination?" 

' '  Not  even  that.  I  think  you  had  a  very  vivid  dream, 
and  being  exhausted,  you  mistook  a  feverish  vision  for 
a  real  apparition.  I  can't  believe  your  mother  is  dead, 
because  if  such  were  the  case,  Dyce  would  have  return 
ed  at  once,  and  told  us." 

"  Dyce  has  a  kind  heart,  and  shrinks  from  bringing 
me  the  sad  news ;  for  she  knows  my  cup  was  already 
full.  I  know  that  my  mother  is  dead.  Time  will  show 
you  that  I  make  no  mistake.  The  veil  was  lifted,  and 
I  saw  beyond." 

"  May  be  so;  may  be  not.  I  am  stubborn  in  my 
opinions,  and  I  never  could  think  it  possible  for  flesh  to 
commune  with  spirits.  Don't  let  us  talk  about  any 
thing  that  disturbs  you,  until  you  regain  your  strength. 
Why  will  you  not  try  a  little  of  this  port  wine  ?  Miss 
Gordon  brought  it  yesterday,  and  insisted  I  should 
give  it  to  you,  three  times  a  day.  It  is  very  old  and 
mellow.  Look  at  things  practically.  God  kept  you 
alive  for  some  wise  purpose,  and  since  you  are  obliged 
to  face  trouble,  is  it  not  better  to  arm  yourself  with  all 
the  physical  vigor  possible  ?  Drink  this,  and  lie  down. ' ' 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  211 

As  Beryl  mechanically  drained  the  glass  and  handed 
it  back,  Mrs.  Singleton  added  : 

"I  believe  I  told  you,  Miss  Gordon  is  Mr.  Dunbar's 
sweetheart.  Their  engagement  is  no  secret,  and  he  is 
a  lucky  man  ;  for  she  is  as  good  as  she  is  pretty,  and 
as  sweet  as  she  is  rich.  She  has  shown  such  a  tender 
interest  in  you,  and  manifests  so  much  sympathy,  that 
I  am  sure  she  will  influence  him  in  your  favor,  and  I 
feel  so  encouraged  about  your  future." 

A  shadowy  smile  crossed  the  girl's  wan  face. 

"  Invest  no  hope  in  my  future;  for  escape  is  as  im 
possible  for  me,  as  for  that  innocent  victim  foreor 
dained  to  entangle  his  horns  in  the  thicket  on  Mount 
Moriah.  He  could  have  fled  from  the  sacrificial  fire, 
and  from  Abraham's  uplifted  knife,  back  to  dewy 
green  pastures  poppy-starred,  back  to  some  cool  dell 
where  Syrian  oleanders  flushed  the  shade,  as  easily  as 
I  can  defy  these  walls,  loosen  the  chain  of  fate,  elude 
my  awful  doom." 

"It  is  because  you  are  not  yet  yourself,  that  you 
take  such  a  despairing  view  of  matters.  After  a  while, 
things  will  look  very  different,  and  you  are  too  plucky 
to  surrender  your  life  without  a  brave  fight.  A  great 
change  has  come  over  Mr.  Dunbar,  and  there  is  no 
telling  what  he  cannot  do,  when  he  sets  to  work.  If 
ever  a  lawyer's  heart  has  been  gnawed  by  remorse,  it 
is  his.  He  and  Miss  Gordon  together  can  pull  you 
out  of  the  bog,  and  I  believe  they  will." 

1  '  Mr.  Dunbar's  professional  reputation  is  more  pre 
cious  in  his  sight  than  a  poor  girl's  life  ;  moreover,  even 
if  he  desired  to  undo  his  work,  he  could  not.  I  am 
beyond  human  succor.  Fate  nails  me  to  a  cross,  but 
God  consents ;  so  I  make  no  struggle,  for  behind  fate 
stands  God — and  my  father." 

Wearily  she  leaned  back  on  her  pillows,  and  turned 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

her  face  to  the  wall.  Mrs.  Singleton  drew  the  blank 
ets  over  her,  folded  her  own  shawl  about  the  shoulders, 
and  smoothing  away  the  hair,  kissed  her  on  the 
temple ;  then  stole  into  the  adjoining  room,  where  her 
children  slept. 

Before  the  fire  that  leaped  and  crackled  in  the  wide 
chimney,  and  leaning  forward  to  rest  her  turbaned 
head  against  the  mantelpiece,  while  she  spread  her 
hands  toward  the  blaze,  stood  a  much  muffled  figure. 

"  Dyce  ! " 

Mrs.  Singleton  had  left  the  door  ajar,  and  the  old 
woman  turned  and  pointed  to  it,  laying  one  finger  on 
her  lips  ;  but  the  warning  came  too  late. 

"  Hush  !  I  don't  want  her  to  know  I  am  here.  Your 
husband  told  me  she  was  sitting  up,  and  in  her  right 
mind,  but  too  weak  to  stand  any  more  trouble.  I 
wish  I  could  run  away,  and  never  see  her  again,  for 
when  I  go  in  there,  I  feel  like  I  was  carrying  a  knife 
to  cut  the  heart  out  of  a  fawn,  what  the  hounds  had 
barely  left  life  in.  I  can't  bear  the  thought  of  having 
to  tell  her—" 

Dyce  covered  her  face  with  her  shawl,  to  stifle  her 
sobs,  and  her  large  frame  shook.  Mrs.  Singleton 
whispered ; 

"  Tell  me  quick.    What  is  it." 

"  Miss  Ellie  is  dead.  I  got  there  three  days  after 
she  was  buried." 

The  warden's  wife  sank  into  a  chair,  and  drew  the 
weeping  negro  into  one  beside  her. 

"  Do  you  know  exactly  what  time  she  died  ?" 

"  Yes — I  had  it  all  put  down  in  black  and  white. 
She  died  on  Tuesday  night,  just  as  the  clock  struck 
two ;  and  the  hospital  nurse  says — Lord,  amercy, 
Miss  Susan  !  are  you  going  to  faint  ?  You  have  turn 
ed  ashy  !" 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  213 

As  Mrs.  Singleton's  thoughts  recurred  to  the  fact 
that  it  was  at  that  hour  that  Beryl  lay  in  the  stupor 
of  the  crisis,  from  which  she  awoke  perfectly  conscious, 
and  recalled  the  dream  that  the  sick  girl  held  as  a  vision , 
she  felt  a  vague  but  bewildering  dread  seize  her  facul 
ties,  in  defiance  of  cool  reason,  and  scoffing  scepticism. 

"  Go  on,  Dyce.    I  felt  a  little  sick.     Tell  me— 

She  paused  and  listened  to  an  unusual  and  inexplic 
able  noise  issuing  from  the  next  room ;  the  harsh  sound 
of  something  scraping  the  bare  floor. 

"  You  must  pick  your  time  to  break  this  misery  to 
that  poor  young  thing.  I  can't  do  it.  I  would  run  a 
mile  sooner  than  face  her  with  the  news,  that  her  ma 
is  dead ;  and  I  have  grieved  and  cried,  till  I  feel  like 
my  brains  had  been  put  in  a  pot  and  biled.  The  Lord 
knows  His  bizness,  of  course ;  yes,  of  course  He  knows 
the  best  to  do ;  but  'pears  to  me,  His  mercy  hid  its  face 
behind  His  wrath,  when  He  saw  fit  to  let  that  poor  in- 
nercent  young  creetur  in  there  get  well,  after  her  ma 
was  laid  in  the  grave.  It  will  be  a  harder  heart  than 
mine  what  can  stand  by,  and  tell  her  she  is  mother 
less." 

'•  There  is  no  need  to  tell  her.    She  knows  it." 

"  How  ?  Did  she  get  the  letter  the  Doctor  said  he 
wrote  ?" 

"No.    She  thinks  her  mother — " 

The  noise  explained  itself.  Too  feeble  to  walk  alone, 
Beryl  had  pushed  a  chair  before  her,  until  she  reached 
the  door,  and  now  stood  grasping  it,  swaying  to  and 
fro,  as  she  endeavored  to  steady  herself.  One  hand 
held  at  her  throat  the  black  shawl,  whose  loosened 
folds  fell  like  a  mourning  mantel  to  her  feet,  the  other 
clutched  the  door,  against  the  edge  of  which  she  leaned 
for  support. 

"  Dyce,  I  have  known  for  some  days  that  I  have  no 


214  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

mother  in  this  world.  I  have  seen  her.  Your  kind 
heart  dreads  giving  me  pain,  but  nothing  can  hurt  me 
now.  I  cannot  suffer  any  more,  because  I  am  bruised 
and  beaten  to  numbness.  I  want  to  see  you  alone ;  I 
want  to  know  everything." 

At  sight  of  her,  the  old  woman  darted  forward  and 
caught  the  tall,  wasted,  tottering  form  in  her  strong 
arms.  Lifting  her  as  though  she  had  been  a  child,  she 
bore  her  back  to  her  small  bleak  room,  laid  her  softly 
on  her  cot,  then  knelt  down,  and  burst  into  a  fit  of  pas 
sionate  crying. 

As  if  to  shut  out  some  torturing  vision,  Beryl 
clasped  her  hands  over  her  eyes,  and  when  she  spoke, 
her  voice  was  very  unsteady  : 

"  Did  you  see  mother  alive  ?" 

"  Oh,  honey,  I  was  too  late!  I  was  three  days  too 
late  to  see  her  at  all.  When  I  got  to  New  York,  and 
found  the  Doctor's  house,  he  was  not  at  home ;  had 
just  gone  to  Boston  a  half  hour  before  I  rung  the  bell. 
His  folks  couldn't  tell  me  nothin',  so  I  had  to  wait  two 
days.  When  I  give  him  your  note,  he  looked  dreadful 
cut  up,  and  tole  me  Miss  Ellie  had  all  the  care  and 
'tention  in  the  world,  but  nothin'  couldn't  save  her. 
He  said  she  didn't  suffer  much,  but  was  'lirious  all  the 
time,  until  the  day  before  she  died,  when  all  of  a  sud- 
dent  her  mind  cleared.  Then  she  axed  for  you,  honey 
—God  bless  you,  my  poor  lamb  !  I  hate  to  harrify 
your  heart.  The  Doctor  comforted  her  all  he  could, 
and  tole  her  bizness  of  importance  had  done  kept  you 
South.  Miss  Ellie  axed  how  long  she  could  live ;  he 
said  only  a  few  hours.  She  begged  him  to  prop  her 
up,  so  she  could  write  a  few  words.  He  says  he  held 
the  paper  for  her,  and  she  wrote  a  little,  and  rested  ; 
and  then  she  wrote  a  little  more  and  fell  back  speech 
less.  He  put  the  piece  of  paper  in  a  invellop  and 


AT   THE   MEKCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  215 

sealed  it.  and  axed  her  if  she  wished  it  given  to  her 
daughter  Beryl.  She  couldn't  talk  then,  but  she 
looked  at  him  and  nodded  her  head.  That  was  about 
four  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  Tuesday.  She  had  a 
sort  of  spasm,  and  went  to  sleep.  At  two  o'clock,  she 
woke  up  in  Heaven.  He  said  he  felt  so  sorry  for  you 
—dear  lamb  !  He  wouldn't  let  them  burry  her  where 
most  was  hurried  that  died  in  the  hospital.  He  had 
her  laid  away  in  his  own  lot  in  some  graveyard,  where 
his  childun  was  hurried,  'till  he  could  hear  from  you. 
He  tole  me,  she  was  tenderly  handled,  and  everything 
was  done  as  you  would  have  wanted  it ;  and  he  cut 
off  some  of  the  beautiful  hair — and — " 

Dyce  smothered  her  sobs  in  the  bedclothes,  but  Beryl 
lay  like  a  stone  image. 

"  Oh,  honey  !  It  jest  splits  my  heart  in  two,  to  tell 
you  all  this — ' 

"  Go  on,  Dyce." 

"  The  doctor  gin  me  a  note  to  the  nuss  at  the  hos 
pital,  what  'tended  the  ward  Miss  Ellie  was  in,  and  I 
got  all  her  clothes,  and  packed  'em  in  a  box  and  brought 
'em  home.  She  told  me  pretty  much  what  the  doctor 
had  said,  only  she  was  shore  your  ma  spoke  jest  before 
she  died,  and  called  twice — '  Ignace  !  Ignace  !'  She 
said  she  was  beautiful  as  a  angel  and  her  hair  was  a 
wonder  to  all  who  saw  her,  it  was  so  long  and  so  lovely. 
She  tole  me  the  doctor  hissef  put  a  big  bunch  of  white 
carnations  and  tuberoses  in  her  hand,  after  they  put 
her  in  the  conin,  and  she  looked  like  a  queen.  The 
doctor  wrote  you  a  letter,  'splainin'  everything,  and 
sent  it  to  the  postmaster  here.  He  seemed  dreadfull 
gi  ieved  and  'stonished  when  I  tole  him  how  I  had  left 
you,  and  said  if  he  could  help  you,  he  would  be  very 
glad  to  do  it.  I  tole  him  we  would  pay  his  bill,  as  soon 
as  this  here  trial  bizness  was  over ;  and  he  answered  : 


216 


AT   THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


'  Tut — tut ;  bill  indeed  !  That  poor  unfortunate  girl 
need  never  worry  over  any  bill  of  mine.  I  did  all  I 
could  for  her  mother,  but  the  best  of  us  fail  sometimes. 
Tell  that  poor  child  to  come  and  see  me,  as  soon  as  she 
gets  out  of  the  clutches  of  those  fire-eating  devils 
down  South.'  Honey,  I  couldn't  be  satisfied  without 
seeing  for  myself,  where  they  had  laid  my  dear  young 
mistiss.  I  got  'rections  from  the  doctor,  and  I  spent 
good  part  of  a  day  huntiii'  the  cemetery,  and  at  last  a 
man  in  a  uniform  showed  me  Doctor  Grantlin's  lot.  Oh, 
my  lamb  !  That  was  the  first  and  only  comfort  I  had, 
when  I  stood  in  front  of  that  grand  lovely  marble  po- 
fcico — with  great  angels  kneeling  on  the  four  corners, 
and  knew  my  dear  young  mistiss  was  resting  in 
such  a  beautiful  place.  I  felt  so  proud  that  ole  mis 
tiss'  chile  was  among  the  best  people,  sleeping  with 
flowers  in  her  hands,  in  that  white  marble  house  !  I 
wanted  to  be  shore  there  warn't  no  mistake,  and  the 
keeper  of  the  graveyard  tole  me  a  lady  had  been  put 
1  temporary '  in  the  vault,  four  days  before.  I  had 
bought  a  bunch  of  violets  from  a  flower  shop,  but  I 
could  not  get  nearer  than  the  door,  where  some  brass 
rods  was  stretched  like  a  kind  of  a  net ;  so  I  laid  my 
little  bunch  down  on  the  marble  steps,  close  as  I  could 
push  it  agin  the  rod ;  and  though  I  couldn't  see  my 
dear  young  mistiss,  maybe — up  in  heaven — she  will 
know  her  poor  ole  mammy  did  not  forgit  her,  and — " 

The  old  woman  cried  bitterly,  and  one  thin  hand, 
white  as  a  snowflake,  fell  upon  her  bowed  head,  and 
softly  stroked  her  black  wrinkled  face.  After  some 
minutes,  when  the  paroxysm  of  weeping  had  spent  it 
self,  Dyce  took  the  hand,  kissed  it  reverently,  and 
pressed  in'wO  it  a  package. 

"  The  doctor  tole  me  to  put  that  into  your  hands. 
He  said  he  knew  it  would  be  very  precious  to  you, 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBEBIUS.  217 

but  he  felt  shore  he  could  trust  me  to  bring:  it  safe. 
Now,  honey,  I  know  you  want  to  be  by  yourself,  when 
you  read  your  ma's  last  words.  I  will  go  and  set  in 
yonder  by  the  fire,  till  you  call  me.  My  heart  aches 
and  swells  fit  to  bust,  and  I  can't  stan'  no  more  misery 
jest  now,  sech  as  this." 

For  some  moments,  Beryl  lay  motionless,  then  the 
intolerable  agony  clutched  her  throat  with  an  ach 
ing  sense  of  suffocation,  and  she  sat  up,  with  nerve 
less  hands  lying  on  the  package  in  her  lap.  She  was 
prepared  for,  expectant  of  the  worst,  but  the  details 
added  keener  stings  to  suffering  that  had  benumbed 
her.  At  last,  with  a  shuddering  sigh,  she  broKe 
the  seal,  and  took  from  folds  of  tissue  paper,  a  long 
thick  tress  of  the  beautiful  black  hair.  Shaking  it  out 
of  its  satin  coil,  she  held  it  up,  then  wrapped  it  smooth 
ly  over  her  hand,  and  laid  it  caressingly  against  her 
cheek. 

Prison  walls  melted  away ;  she  stood  again  in  the 
New  York  attic,  and  combed,  and  brushed,  and  braid 
ed  those  raven  locks,  and  saw  the  wan  face  of  the  be 
loved  invalid,  and  the  jasmine  and  violets  she  had 
pinned  at  her  throat. 

What  had  become  of  the  proud,  high-spirited  am 
bitious  girl,  who  laughed  at  adverse  fortune,  and  for 
got  poverty  in  lofty  aspirations  ?  How  long  ago  it 
seemed,  since  she  kissed  the  dear  faded  cheek,  and 
knelt  for  her  mother's  farewell  benediction.  Was  it 
the  same  world  ?  Was  she  the  same  Beryl ;  was  the 
eternal  and  unchanging  God  over  all,  as  of  yore  ? 
She  had  shattered  and  ruined  the  sparkling  crystal 
goblet  of  her  young  life,  scattering  in  the  dust  the 
golden  wine  of  happy  hope,  in  the  effort  to  serve  and 
comfort  that  loved  sufferer,  who,  languishing  on  a 
liospital  cot,  had  died  among  strangers;  had  been 


218  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

shrouded  by  hirelings.  That  any  other  hand  than  hers 
had  touched  her  sacred  dead,  seemed  a  profanation; 
and  at  the  thought  of  the  last  rites  rendered,  the  loyal 
child  shivered  as  though  some  polluting  grasp  had  been 
laid  upon  herself.  Out  of  the  envelope  rolled  a  broad 
hoop  of  reddish  gold,  her  mother's  wedding  ring  ;  and 
in  zigzag  lines  across  a  sheet  of  paper  was  written  the 
last  message  : 

"  My  dear,  good  little  girl,  so  faithful,  so  true,  my 
legacy  of  love  is  your  mother's  blessing.  You  must 
be  comforted  to  know  I  am  dying  in  peace,  because  I 
trust  in  your  last  promise — " 

Then  a  blot,  some  unintelligible  marks,  and  a  space. 
Lower  still,  scarcely  legible  characters  were  scrawled  : 

"  Tell  my  darling — to  wear  my  ring  as  a  holy — " 

In  death  as  in  life,  the  last  word,  and  the  deepest 
feeling  were  not  for  her  ;  the  sacred  souvenir  was  left 
for  the  hand  that  had  so  often  stabbed  the  idolatrous 
heart,  now  stilled  forever. 

In  all  ages  the  ninety  and  nine  that  go  not  astray, 
never  feel  the  caressing  touch  which  the  yearning  Shep. 
herd  lays  on  the  obstinate  wanderer,  who  would  not 
pasture  in  peace ;  and  from  the  immemorial  dawn  of 
inchoate  civilization,  prodigals  have  possessed  the  open 
sesame  to  parental  hearts  that  seemed  barred  against 
the  more  dutiful.  By  what  perverted  organon  of  ethics 
has  it  come  to  pass  in  sociology,  that  the  badge  of 
favoritism  is  rarely  the  guerdon  of  merit  ? 

To  the  orphaned,  forsaken,  disgraced  captive,  sit 
ting-  amid  the  sombre  ruins  of  her  life,  drinking  the 
bitter  lees  of  the  fatal  cup  a  mother's  hand  had  forced 
to  her  reluctant  lips,  there  seemed  nothing  strange  in 
the  injustice  meted  out ;  for  had  not  the  second  place 
in  maternal  love  always  been  hers  ?  As  the  great  grey 
eyes  darkening  behind  their  tears,  like  deep  lakes  under 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  219 

coming  rain,  read  and  re-read  the  blurred  lines,  the 
frozen  mouth  trembled,  and  Beryl  kissed  the  hair, 
folded  it  away  in  the  letter,  and  pinned  both  close  to 
her  heart.  Staggering  to  her  feet,  she  held  up  the 
ring,  and  said  in  a  broken,  half  audible  voice : 

"  When  I  am  dead,  your  darling  shall  have  it ; 
until  then  lend  it  to  your  little  girl,  as  a  strengthening 
amulet.  The  sight  of  it  will  hold  me  firm,  will  girdle 
my  soul  with  fortitude,  as  it  girdles  my  finger ;  will 
set  a  yet  holier  seal  to  the  compact  whereby  I  pledged 
my  life,  that  you  might  die  in  peace.  If,  in  the  last 
hour,  you  had  known  all  my  peril,  all  that  my  promise 
entails,  would  you  have  released  me  ?  Would  you 
have  died  content  knowing  that  your  idol  was  guarded 
and  safe,  behind  the  cold  shield  of  your  little  girl's  pol 
luted  body  ?  The  blood  in  my  veins  flowed  from  yours  ; 
I  slept  on  your  heart,  I  was  the  last  baby  whose  lips 
fed  at  your  bosom.  Mother  !  Mother,  if  you  had 
known  all,  could  you  have  seen  the  load  of  guilt  and 
shame  and  woe  laid  on  your  innocent  child,  and  bought 
the  life  of  your  first-born,  by  the  sacrifice  of  a  scape 
goat  ?  Dear  mother,  my  mother,  would  you  shelter 
him,  and  leave  your  baby  to  die  ?  " 

Slipping  the  ring  on  her  finger,  she  kissed  it  twice. 
The  hot  flood  of  tears  overflowed,  and  she  fell  on  her 
knees  beside  the  cot,  clasping  her  hands  above  her 
bowed  head. 

"  Alone  in  my  desolation !  Oh,  father !  keep  close 
to  my  soul,  and  pray  that  I  may  have  strength  to  bear 
my  burden,  even  to  the  end.  My  God  !  My  God ! 
sustain  me  now.  Help  me  to  be  patient,  and  when  the 
sacrifice  is  finished,  accept  it  for  Christ's  sake,  and 
grant  that  the  soul  of  my  brother  may  b«  ransomed, 
because  I  die  for  his  sins." 


AT  THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

<  <  \\T  ELL,  dear  child,  what  is  the  trouble  ?  Into  what 
*  *  quagmire  have  your  little  feet  slipped  ?  When 
you  invite  me  so  solemnly  to  a  private  conference  in 
this  distractingly  pretty  room,  the  inference  is  inevit 
able  that  some  disaster  threatens.  Have  you  over 
drawn  your  bank  account  ?" 

Judge  Dent  leaned  back,  making  himself  thoroughly 
comfortable  in  a  deep  easy  chair  in  Leo's  luxurious 
library ;  and  taking  his  niece's  hand,  looked  up  into  her 
grave,  sweet  face. 

' ' I  want  you  to  honor  my  draft  for  a  large  amount.  I 
am  about  to  draw  upon  your  sympathy ;  can  I  ever 
overdraw  my  account  with  that  royal  bank  ?" 

"Upon my  sympathy,  never;  but  mark  you,  this 
does  not  commit  me  to  compliance  with  all  your  Uto 
pian  schemes.  If  you  were  raving  mad,  I  should  sym 
pathize,  but  nevertheless  I  should  see  that  the  strait- 
jacket  was  brought  into  requisition.  When  your  gen 
erosity  train  dashes  recklessly  beyond  regulation 
schedules  of  safety,  I  must  discharge  engineer  sym 
pathy,  and  whistle  down  the  brakes,  What  new  hobby 
do  you  intend  that  I  shall  ride  ?" 

"  I  have  no  intention  of  sharing  that  privilege  even 
with  you  ;  I  merely  desire  you  to  inspect  the  accoutre 
ments,  to  examine  reins,  and  girth,  and  stirrup.  I 
lend  my  hobby  to  no  one,  and  it  is  far  too  mettlesome 
to  '  carry  double  '.  Uncle  Mitchell,  I  feel  so  unhappy 
about  that  poor  girl,  that  I  must  do  something  to  com 
fort  her,  and  only  one  avenue  presents  itself.  I  want 
you  to  have  her  brought  into  court  on  a  writ  of  Habeas 


AT  THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  321 

Corpus,  and  to  use  your  influence  with  Judge  Park- 
man  to  grant  her  bail.  I  desire  to  give  the  amount  of 
bond  he  may  require,  because  I  think  it  would  gratify 
her,  to  have  this  public  assurance  that  she  possessed 
the  confidence  of  her  own  sex;  for  nothing  so 
strengthens  and  soothes  a  true  woman  as  the  sym 
pathy  and  trust  of  women." 

"  Looking  at  the  case  dispassionately  from  a  pro 
fessional  point  of  view,  I  am  sorry  to  tell  you  that  the 
judge  would  scarcely  be  warranted  in  granting  bail. 
Were  I  still  upon  the  bench,  I  could  not  conscientiously 
release  her,  in  the  face  of  constantly  accumulating  evi 
dence  against  her,  although  she  has  my  deepest  com 
passion.  Conceding,  however,  for  the  moment,  that 
Parkman  consents  to  the  petition  and  the  girl  is  set 
at  liberty,  are  you  prepared  to  pay  the  large  forfeit,  if 
she,  realizing  the  fearful  odds  against  her  acquittal, 
should  take  permanent  bail  by  absconding  before  the 
trial  ?  Abstract  sympathy  and  generous  sentiments 
are  one  phase  of  this  matter ;  positively  paying  a  fif 
teen  or  a  twenty-thousand-dollar-bond  is  quite  an 
other.  Weigh  it  carefully.  We  pity  this  unfortunate 
prisoner,  but  we  know  absolutely  nothing  in  her  favor, 
to  counterbalance  the  terrible  array  of  accusing  cir 
cumstances  fate  has  piled  against  her.  If  she  be 
guilty,  can  she  resist  the  temptation  to  escape  by 
flight ;  and  if  indeed  she  be  innocent,  how  much  more 
difficult  to  await  all  that  is  involved  in  this  trial,  and 
abide  the  issue?  Because  she  is  beautiful,  has  a 
refined  and  noble  air,  and  seems  unsullied  as  some 
grand  snow  image,  do  not  blind  yourself  to  the  fact, 
that  for  aught  we  can  prove  to  the  contrary,  she  may 
have  a  heart  as  black  as  Tullias',  hands  as  bloody  as 
Brunehaut's." 

"  You  believe  that  as  little  as  I  do.    I  have  pon- 


222  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

dered  the  matter  in  all  its  aspects,  and  I  take  the 
risk." 

"  You  can  afford  to  pay  for  her  flight?" 

"  I  will  pay  for  her  flight,  no  matter  what  it  may 
cost." 

Judge  Dent  took  her  hand  between  both  his. 

"  Let  us  be  frank. 

1  The  things  we  do — 
We  do  ;  we'll  wear  no  mask,  as  if  we  blushed  I' 

Are  you  so  assured  of  the  woman's  fidelity ;  or  do 
you  deliberately  leave  the  door  ajar,  foreseeing  the  re 
sult,  deeming  this  the  most  expedient  method  of  cut 
ting  the  Gordian  knot  ?" 

For  a  moment  she  hesitated,  then  her  soft  brown 
eyes  looked  down  bravely  into  his. 

"  I  believe  she  is  innocent,  and  that  she  will  be  loyal 
if  released  on  bail ;  but  if  I  mistake  her  character,  and 
she  should  flee  for  her  life  from  the  lifted  sword  of  jus 
tice,  then  I  shall  gladly  pay  the  expense  of  playing 
Alexander's  role ;  and  shall  feel  rejoiced  that  she  lives 
to  repent  her  crime ;  and  that  the  man  to  whom  I  have 
promised  my  hand,  has  been  relieved  of  the  awful  re 
sponsibility  of  hunting  her  to  death." 

"  Have  you  made  him  acquainted  with  this  scheme  ?" 

"  Certainly  not.  I  owed  it  to  you  to  secure  your  ap 
probation  and  co-operation,  before  mentioning  the  mat 
ter  to  him." 

"  Have  you  considered  the  opposition  which,  without 
inconsistency,  he  cannot  fail  to  offer  ?  As  prosecuting 
attdpney  for  the  Darringtons  he  would  be  recreant  to 
his  client,  if  he  consented  to  release  on  bail." 

"  His  sympathy  is  deeply  enlisted  in  her  behalf,  and 
I  do  not  anticipate  opposition ;  nevertheless,  it  would 
not  deter  me  from  the  attempt  to  free  her,  at  least 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

temporarily  from  prison.  As  you  have  no  connection 
with  the  trial,  I  can  see  no  impropriety  in  your  telling 
Judge  Parkman,  that  the  girl's  health  demands  a 
change  of  air  and  scene,  and  that  it  is  my  desire  to  fur 
nish  any  bond  he  may  deem  suitable,  and  then  bring 
the  prisoner  under  my  own  roof,  until  the  day  fixed  for 
her  trial.  If  you  are  unwilling  to  speak  to  him,  will 
you  permit  me  to  mention  the  subject  to  him  ?" 

"  I  fear  enthusiasm  is  hurrying  you  into  a  proposal, 
the  possibly  grave  consequences  of  which  you  do  not 
realize.  You  would  run  a  great  risk  in  bringing  here 
that  unfortunate  woman,  over  whose  head  has  gathered 
so  black  a  cloud  of  suspicion.  In  becoming  her  gaoler, 
you  assume  a  fearful  responsibility." 

"  I  fully  comprehend  all  the  hazard,  and  with  your 
permission,  I  shall  not  shrink.  I  have  a  conviction,  for 
which  I  can  offer  no  adequate  grounds,  that  this  girl 
is  as  innocent  as  I  am ;  and  if  all  the  world  hissed  and 
jeered,  I  should  stretch  out  my  hand  to  her.  Do  you 
recollect  Ortes'  booty  when  Antwerp  fell  into  Alva's 
hands  ?  The  keys  of  the  dungeons.  I  would  rather 
swing  wide  the  barred  doors  of  yonder  human  cage 
across  the  river,  and  lead  that  woman  out  under  God's 
free  sky,  than  wear  all  of  Alva's  jewels,  own  his  gold. 
Uncle,  will  you  speak,  or  shall  I  ?" 

"  I  must  first  talk  with  Churchill  and  Dunbar.  Your 
effort  might  result  only  in  injury  to  the  prisoner ;  be 
cause  if  she  were  brought  into  Court  on  writ  of  Habeas 
Corpus,  and  refused  bail,  as  I  fear  would  be  the  case, 
the  failure  would  operate  very  unfavorably  for  her 
cause,  on  public  opinion,  of  which  after  all,  jn  nineteen 
cases  out  of  twenty,  the  jury  verdict  is  a  reflection, 
Some  new  evidence  has  been  presented  since  the  pre 
liminary  examination,  and  its  character  will  determine 
the  question  of  bail.  If  T  can  see  any  chance  of  youi 


224 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 


success,  I  will  speak  to  Parkman ;  for,  indeed,  my  don  r 
child,  I  honor  your  motive,  and  share  your  hope ;  bin 
unless  I  find  more  encouragement  than  I  expect,  I  wJl 
not  complicate  matters  by  a  futile  attempt,  which 
would  certainly  recoil  disastrously." 

"  Thank  you,  Uncle  Mitchell.  Please  act  promptly. 
I  have  set  my  heart  of  hearts  on  having  that  poor 
young  woman  here  to  spend  Christmas.  Her  freedom 
to  walk  about  in  the  sunshine,  is  the  one  Christmas 
gift  I  covet ;  and  I  know  you  will  gratify  me  if  possible. 
You  have  only  four  days  in  which  to  secure  my 
present." 

"  When  do  you  expect  to  see  Dunbar  ?" 

"I  promised  to  ride  with  him  this  afternoon ;  but  I 
prefer  not  to  discuss  this  subject,  as  he  has  earnestly 
requested  me  '  to  abstain  from  any  reference  to  that 
gloomy  business  during  his  hours  of  recreation ;'  and  I 
have  no  intention  of  setting  black  care  en  croupe  to 
share  our  canter  to-day.  Having  told  me  that  when 
he  leaves  his  office  to  visit  us,  he  locks  his  professional 
affairs  in  his  desk,  you  can  readily  understand  that 
good  taste  enforces  respect  for  his  wishes,  at  least  in 
the  matter  of  avoiding  tabooed  topics." 

"  Does  it  occur  to  you  that  he  will  object  very  strenu 
ously  to  seeing  the  personification  of  '  that  gloomy 
business  '  sitting  at  your  hearth-stone  ?  That  he  may 
refuse  to  lock  up  in  his  law  office  the  significant  and 
disagreeable  reflection,  that  the  woman  whom  he  ar 
rested  and  prosecutes  for  a  vile  crime,  is  championed 
and  housed  by  one  whom  he  claims  as  his  promised 
wife  ?  Dunbar  has  a  keen  eye  for  the  '  eternal  fitness 
of  things,  *and,  where  you  are  concerned,  is  a  jealous 
stickler  for  social  convenance.  I  warn  you  he  will  be 
bitterly  offended,  if  you  bring-  General  Darrington's 
granddaughter  under  this  roof/' 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  225 

Her  delicate  flower-like  face  flushed ;  and  the  slight 
figure  became  proudly  erect. 

"  It  is  my  house,  and  I  acquit  him  of  the  presump 
tion  of  desiring-  to  dictate  to  whom  its  doors  shall  be 
opened.  If  he  has  no  confidence  in  my  discretion,  no  re 
spect  for  my  motives,  no  tolerance  for  difference  of 
opinion  in  a  matter  of  vital  importance,  then  the 
sooner  our  engagement  is  annulled  the  better  for  both  of 
us.  When  I  have  taken  my  vows,  I  hope  I  shall  stead 
fastly  keep  them,  but  meantime  I  am  still  a  Gordon. 
The  irrevocable  ubi  tu  Caius,  ego  Caia,  has  not  yet 
been  uttered,  and  while  it  would  grieve  me  very  much 
to  wound  his  feelings,  I  claim  the  exercise  of  my  own 
judgment.  I  am  not  indifferent  to  his  wishes  ;  on  the 
contrary,  I  ardently  desire,  as  far  as  is  consistent  with 
my  self-respect,  to  defer  to  them ;  but  when  I  pledged 
him  my  faith,  I  did  not  surrender  my  will,  nor  obliter 
ate  my  individuality." 

Judge  Dent  rose,  put  h?s  arm  around  her  shoulders, 
and  drew  the  sunny  head  to  his  breast. 

"  Leo,  listen  to  me.  There  is  no  heaven  on  earth, 
but  the  nearest  approach  to  it,  the  outlying  suburbs 
whenco  we  get  bewildering  glimpses  of  beatitude  be^- 
yond,  is  the  season  of  courtship  and  betrothal.  In 
the  magical  days  of  sweetheartdom,  a  silvery  glorify 
ing  glamour  wraps  the  world,  brims  jagged  black 
chasms  with  glittering  mist,  paves  rugged  paths  with 
its  shimmering  folds,  and  tenderly  covers  very  deep  in 
rose  leaves,  the  clay  feet  of  our  idols.  That  wonderful 
light  shines  only  once  full  upon  us,  but  the  memory  of 
it  streams  all  along  the  succeeding  journey  ;  follows 
us  up  the  arid  heights,  throws  its  mellow  after 
glow  on  the  darkening  road,  as  we  go  swiftly  down  the 
slippery  hill  of  life.  It  comes  to  all,  as  hope's  happy 
prophecy,  this  sparkling  prologue,  and  we  never  dream 


226  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

that  it  is  the  sweetest  and  best  of  the  drama  that  fol 
lows  ;  but  let  me  tell  you,  enjoy  it  while  you  may. 
Beautiful,  hallowing1  sweetheart  days,  keep  them  un 
clouded,  guard  them  from  strife  ;  hold  them  for  the 
precious  enchantment  they  bring,  and  take  an  old 
man's  advice,  do  not  quarrel  with  your  sweetheart." 

He  kissed  her  cheek,  and  when  the  door  closed  behind 
him,  she  sat  down  and  covered  her  face  with  her  hands. 

Was  that  witching-  light  already  fading  in  her  sky  ? 
Was  the  storm  even  now  muttering,  that  would 
rudely  toss  aside  the  rose  leaves  that  garlanded  th<» 
feet  of  her  beloved  ?  In  the  midst  of  her  eloquent  pro 
logue  would  darkness  smite  suddenly,  and  end  the 
drama  ?  Life  had  poured  its  richest  wine  into  the  cu]? 
she  held  to  her  lips ;  should  she  risk  spilling  the  price 
less  draught  ?  She  could  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  teazing 
whispers  of  suspicion,  she  could  shut  her  eyes  to  thr 
spectre  that  threw  up  warning  hands,  and  so  drift  on  ; 
but  the  dream  would  be  broken  perhaps  too  late,  and 
all  time  could  not  repair  the  possible  shipwreck.  Into 
the  chill  shadow  of  this  problem  plunged  Miss  Patty,, 
bringing  through  the  room  the  penetrating  spicery  of 
an  apron  full  of  pinks,  which  she  was  sorting  and  tying 
in  star-shaped  clusters. 

"  An  extraordinary  and  most  unexpected  thing  has 
happened,  and  I  know  you  will  be  surprised." 

"  What  is  it,  aunt  Patty  ?  Something  very  pleasant, 
I  hope." 

"  I  have  actually  changed  my  opinion ;  and  you 
know  how  tenacious  I  usually  am  of  my  well-matured 
views,  because  they  are  always  founded  on  such  sound 
reasons.  Quite  surprised,  arn't  you,  dear  ?" 

"  That  is  far  too  mild  and  inadequate  a  term  to  ex 
press  my  sensations.  Your  views  and  opinions  beai 
the  same  royal,  inviolable  seal  as  those  of  the  Medes 


AT  THE  MEROY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

and  Persians,  and  from  their  unchangeableness  must 
have  floated  down  the  stream  of  Aryan  migration, 
from  some  infallible  fountain  in  Bactria.  I  should  not 
be  much  more  astonished  to  hear  that  Cynosure  had 
grown  giddy,  had  swung  down  and  waltzed  in  the 
arms  of  Sirius." 

"  Leo,  that  sounds  very  pedantic,  and  there  is  noth 
ing  I  dislike  more.  A  woman  bedecked  with  rags  and 
tags  of  far-fetched  learning,  is  about  as  attractive  an 
object  as  if  she  had  turned  out  a  full  beard  and  mus 
tache.  I  am  very  sure  you  have  heard  me  assert  more 
than  once,  that  I  verily  believe  Venus  herself  would 
scare  all  the  men  into  monasteries,  if  she  wore  blue 
stockings.  Too  much  learning  in  a  lady's  conversation 
is  as  utterly  unpardonable  as  a  waste  of  lemon  and  nut 
meg  in  a  chicken-pie ;  or  a  superfluity  of  cheese  in  Tur* 
hot  a  la  crdme ;  just  a  hint  of  the  flavor,  the  merest 
joupgon  is  all  that  is  admissible  in  either.  I  came  in 
to  tell  you,  that  I  have  experienced  quite  a  change  of 
feeling  with  reference  to  that  poor  young  lady,  whom 
Mr.  Dunbar  with  such  oflicious  haste  arrested  and 
threw  into  gaol.  I  am  now  convinced  that  a  great 
wrong  has  been  committed." 

For  a  moment  Leo  stooped  to  stroke  the  head  of  her 
Siberian  hound,  crouching  on  the  velvet  rug  at  her  feet; 
then  she  frankly  met  the  twinkling  black  eyes  that 
peered  over  their  gold-rimmed  spectacles. 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  it ;  but  to  what  circumstance  is 
so  decided  a  revulsion  of  sentiment  attributable  ?" 

"  You  know  1  have  great  confidence  in  Sister  Serena's 
sagacity,  and  during  the  past  fortnight  she  has  talked 
frequently  with  me  on  the  subject  of  the  prisoner.  When 
she  undertook  to  nurse  the  poor  child,  she  too  consid 
ered  her  guilty  of  the  unnatural  crime  :  but  by  degrees 
fine  began  to  doubt  it.  About  ten  days  ago,  she 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

says  she  went  to  the  penitentiary,  and  found  the 
prisoner  reading-  a  Bible  which  she  had  borrowed  from 
the  gaoler's  wife.  She  asked  her  if  she  would  like  her 
to  offer  up  a  prayer,  in  her  behalf,  and  they  knelt  down 
side  by  side.  Sister  Serena  prayed  that  God  would 
melt  her  heart  if  she  was  guilty,  and  help  her  to  repent. 
While  they  were  still  on  their  knees,  Sister  Serena  put 
one  arm  around  her  and  said  : 

"  '  God  knows  whether  you  are  the  criminal ;  and  il 
so,  let  me  beg  of  you  to  make  a  full  confession;  it  will 
unload  your  conscience,  and  may  be  the  means  of 
arousing  more  sympathy  in  the  public  heart. '  Sh  e  says 
that  the  poor  girl  looked  at  her  a  moment  so  reproach 
fully,  and  answered  :  '  When  we  meet  in  heaven,  you 
will  understand  how  cruelly  your  words  hurt  me.  I 
know  that  appearances  are  hopelessly  against  me,  and 
I  expect  to  die  ;  but  I  am  so  innocent,  I  keep  my  soul 
close  to  God,  for  He  who  knows  the  truth,will  help  me 
to  bear  man's  injustice.'  Then  she  prayed  aloud  for 
herself,  that  she  might  endure  patiently  and  meekly 
an  awful  punishment,  which  she  did  not  deserve ; 
and  while  she  prayed,  her  countenance  was  so  pure,  so 
angelic,  and  there  was  such  unmistakable  fervor  and 
sincerity  in  her  petition,  that  Sister  Serena  says  she 
could  not  help  bursting  into  tears,  and  she  actually 
begged  the  girl's  pardon  for  having  doubted  her  inno 
cence.  She  has  fallen  completely  in  love  with  the  poor 
young  creature,  and  tells  me  she  finds  her  wonderfully 
talented  and  cultivated.  This  morning  she  showed  me 
some  of  the  most  beautiful  designs  for  decorating  our 
altar  on  Christmas,  which  the  prisoner  sketched  for 
her.  She  cut  all  the  models  for  her,  and  gave  her 
such  lovely  suggestions,  and  when  Sister  Serena  thank 
ed  her,  she  says  the  most  touching  smile  she  ever  saw 
came  into  that  child's  face,  as  she  answered  :  '  I  ought 


AT   THE   MERCY   OP  TIBERIUS. 

to  thank  you  for  the  privilege  of  decorating  my  Savior's 
altar,  at  the  last  Christmas  I  shall  spend  on  earth. 
Next  year,  I  shall  spend  Jesus'  birthday  with  Him.'  I 
felt  so  uncomfortable  when  I  heard  all  that  passed  be 
tween  her  and  Sister  Serena,  that  I  could  not  be  easy 
until  I  had  seen  for  myself ;  and  as  Sister  Serena  was 
going  over  to  carry  some  letters  to  be  painted  and  gild 
ed,  I  went  with  her.  I  have  seen  her,  and  talked  with 
her,  and  I  pity  the  hard,  bitter,  unregenerate  and  vin 
dictive  heart  of  the  man  who  is  prosecuting  her  for 
murder.  I  do  not  believe  that  in  all  the  world,  Mr. 
Dunbar  can  find  twelve  men  idiotic  and  vicious  enough 
bo  convict  that  beautiful  orphan  girl ;  and  his  failure 
will  do  as  little  credit  to  his  intellect,  as  success  would 
to  his  moral  nature." 

"  While  I  prefer  to  exclude  Mr.  Dunbar's  name  from 
our  discussions,  I  think  it  merely  bare  justice  to  the 
absent,  to  assure  you  that  he  desires  her  conviction 
even  less  than  you  or  I ;  and  will  do  all  in  his  power 
l;o  avert  it.  I  feel  more  interest  in  this  matter  than 
you  can  possibly  realize,  and,  believing  her  innocent,  I 
-vill  befriend  her  to  the  last  extremity.  Did  Sister 
Serena  succeed  in  fitting  the  black  dress  I  sent?" 

"  The  poor  child  had  on  a  mourning  dress,  but  I  was 
not  aware  you  sent  it.  Losing  her  mother  seems 
almost  to  have  broken  her  heart.  Poor  Ellice  Darring- 
ton  !  Petted  and  fostered  like  a  hot-house  flower,  and 
then  to  die  a  pauper  in  a  hospital  !  What  an  awful 
retribution  for  her  disobedience  to  her  parents  ?  There 
is  the  bell." 

''Yes,  Auntie,  and  I  must  ask  you  to  excuse  me. 
Some  of  my  Sunday-school  class  are  coming  to  practise 
r.heir  carols,  and  conclude  a  little  holiday  preparation, 
ir.d  I  hear  them  now  on  the  steps." 

"  Did  Mitchell  show  you  Leighton's  telegram?" 


230  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

"  He  told  me  the  good  news,  that  at  the  last  mo 
ment  Leighton  had  filled  his  pulpit  for  the  holidays, 
and  would  preach  for  us  on  Christmas.  How  delight 
fully  it  will  revive  the  dear  old  days  to  have  him  back  ? 
Fancy  our  hanging  up  our  stockings  once  more  at 
the  foot  of  Uncle  Mitchell's  bed  !  Your  letter  must 
have  been  eloquent,  indeed,  to  entice  him  from  the 
splendors  of  the  metropolis,  to  the  yule  log  at  our  quiet 
'  Lilacs  ' ;  and  his  coming  is  a  tribute  of  gratitude  to 
you,  for  all  your  loving  care  of  him.  I  know  you  are 
so  happy  at  the  thought  of  taking  the  Holy  Commun 
ion  from  the  hand  of  your  dear  boy,  that  it  will  conse 
crate  this  Christmas  above  all  others ;  and  I  congrat 
ulate  you  heartily,  dear  Aunt  Patty." 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  of  Saturday,  Christmas 
Eve,  when  Leo  knocked  at  the  door  of  Mrs.  Singleton's 
room.  A  dispirited  expression  characterized  the 
countenance  usually  serene  and  happy,  and  between 
her  brows  a  perpendicular  line  marked  the  advent  of 
anxious  foreboding.  Her  hopeful  scheme  had  dissolv 
ed,  vanished  like  a  puff  of  steam  on  icy  air,  leaving 
only  a  teazing  memory  of  mocking  failure.  Judge 
Dent's  conference  with  the  District  Solicitor,  had  con 
vinced  him  of  the  futility  of  any  attempt  to  secure  bail; 
moreover,  a  message  from  the  prisoner  earnestly  ex 
horted  them  to  abandon  all  intercessory  designs  in  her 
behalf,  as  she  would  not  accept  release  on  bail,  and 
preferred  to  await  her  trial. 

"  Good  evening,  Miss  Gordon.  If  you  want  to  see 
her,  Ned  will  show  you  the  way  to  the  chapel,  where 
I  left  her  a  while  ago.  Since  her  mother's  death,  the 
only  comfort  she  gets,  is  from  the  organ ;  so  we  let  her 
go  there  very  often.  I  would  go  with  you,  but  I  want 
to  finish  a  black  shawl  I  am  crocheting  for  her." 
The  warden  escorted  his  visitor  through  the  chill 


AT  THE   MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  231 

dim  corridors  that  had  formerly  so  appalled  Beryl's 
soul,  and  upon  the  steps  of  the  chapel,  both  paused  to 
listen.  On  the  small  cabinet  organ,  a  skilful  hand  was 
playing-  a  grand  and  solemn  aria,  which  Leo  had  heard 
once  before  in  the  cool  depths  of  Freiburg  Cathedral. 
It  had  impressed  her  then  most  powerfully,  as  the 
despairing  invocation  of  some  doomed  Titan ;  to-day 
it  thrilled  her  with  keen  and  intolerable  pain.  Waving 
the  warden  back,  she  softly  entered  the  chapel,  closed 
the  door,  and  sat  down. 

Through  the  narrow  windows,  the  afternoon  sun 
light,  fettered  by  shadowy  bars,  fell  on  the  bare 
floor,  and  the  radiance  smote  the  organ  and  thp 
wan  face  of  the  musician,  gilding  the  dark  red 
dish-brown  hair  coiled  loosely  on  her  nobly  poised 
head.  Her  black  dress  enhanced  the  extreme  pallor 
of  delicate  features,  which,  outlined  against  that  golden 
background,  bore  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  lovely 
portrait  of  Titian's  wife  in  the  Louvre.  Unmindful  of 
the  keys,  across  which  her  fingers  strayed,  she  was 
gazing  off  into  space,  as  if  seeking  some  friendly  face ; 
and  to  the  same  sombre,  passionate,  plaintive  melody 
she  sang : 

"  The  way  is  dark,  my  Father  !  Cloud  upon  cloud 
Is  gathering  thickly  o'er  my  head,  and  loud 
The  thunders  roar  above  me.     O,  see — I  stand 
Like  one  bewildered  1  Father,  take  my  hand — 
And  through  the  gloom  lead  safely  home  Thy  Child  I 
The  day  declines,  my  Father  !  and  the  night 
Is  drawing  darkly  down.     My  faithless  sight 
Sees  ghostly  visions.     Fears  like  a  spectral  band 
Encompass  me.     O,  Father,  take  my  hand, 
And  from  the  night  lead  up  to  light  Thy  Child  I 
The  cross  is  heavy,  Father  !    I  have  borne 
It  long,  and  still  do  bear  it.     I  cannot  stand 
Or  go  alone.     O,  Father,  take  my  hand, 
And  reaching  down,  lead  to  the  crown  Thy  Child  !** 


232 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


The  voice  was  wonderfully  sweet  and  rich,  vibrating 
with  the  intense  pathos  of  minor  chords  in  a  mellow 
old  violoncello,  and  either  from  physical  weakness,  or 
the  weight  of  woe,  it  quivered  at  last  into  a  thrilling 
cry.  Tears  were  dripping-  over  Leo's  cheeks,  as  she 
went  up  to  the  chancel  railing,  and  leaning  across,  put 
out  her  hand.  Beryl  rose  and  came  forward,  and  so, 
with  on  I}7  the  pine  balustrade  between,  the  two  stood 
palm  in  palm.  No  moisture  dimmed  the  prisoner's 
eyes,  but  around  her  beautiful  mouth  sorrowful  curves 
betokened  the  fierceness  of  the  ordeal  she  was  endur 
ing  ;  and  her  lips  trembled  a  little,  like  rose  leaves  un 
der  a  sudden  rude  gust. 

"  I  have  wanted  very  much  to  see  you,  Miss  Gordon, 
to  thank  you  for  the  great  kindness  that  prompted 
your  effort  to  help  me ;  and  yet,  I  have  no  hope  of 
expressing  adequately  the  comfort  I  derived  from  this 
manifestation  of  your  confidence.  The  knowledge  that 
you  offered  security  for  me,  above  all,  that  you  were 
willing  to  take  me — an  outcast,  almost  a  convicted 
criminal — into  the  holy  shelter  of  your  own  home,  oh  ! 
you  can  never  realize,  unless  you  stood  in  my  place, 
how  it  soothes  my  heart,  how  it  will  always  make  a 
bright  spot  in  the  blackness  of  my  situation.  The  full 
sympathy  of  a  noble  woman  is  the  best  tonic  for  a 
feeble  sufferer,  who  knows  the  world  has  turned  its 
back  upon  her.  If  I  were  unworthy,  your  goodness 
would  be  the  keenest  lash  that  could  scourge  me  ;  but 
forlorn  though  I  seem,  your  friendship  brings  me  meas 
ureless  balm,  and  while  I  could  never  have  accepted 
your  generous  offer,  I  thank  you  sincerely." 

"Why  were  you  so  unwilling  that  I  should  try  to 
release  you  ?  " 

"  I  have  not  a  dollar  to  pay  my  expenses  anywhere, 
and  I  appreciated  too  fully  all  that  was  involved  in 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  235 

your  hospitable  offer,  to  take  me  under  your  roof,  to  bo 
willing-  to  avail  myself  of  it.  Here  I  am  provided  for, 
by  those  who  believe  me  guilty ;  and  here  I  have  the 
kind  sympathy  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Singleton,  who  were  my 
first  friends  when  the  storm  broke  over  my  doomed 
head.  To  go  out  of  prison  into  the  world  now,  would  be 
torturing,  because  I  am  proud  and  sensitive ;  and  these 
dark  walls  screen  me  from  the  curious  observation  from 
which  I  shrink,  as  from  being  flayed.  To  the  desolate 
and  homeless,  change  of  place  brings  no  relief;  and 
since  there  is  no  escape  for  me,  I  prefer  to  wait  here 
for  the  end,  which,  after  all,  cannot  be  very  distant." 

"  Do  you  refer  to  the  trial  next  month  ?  " 

"  No,  to  that  which  yawns  behind  the  trial ;  a  shal 
low  gash  out  there  under  the  pines,  where  the  sound 
of  the  penitentiary  bell  tolls  requiems  for  the  souls  of 
its  mangled  victims." 

"  Hush  !  hush  !  You  wrong  yourself  by  imagining 
the  possibility  of  such  horrible  results.  Gloomy  sur 
roundings,  coupled  with  your  great  bereavement, 
render  you  morbidly  despondent ;  and  it  was  the  hope 
of  cheering  you,  that  made  me  so  anxious  to  get  you 
away.  If  I  could  only  take  you  home,  even  for  one 
week!  " 

"  The  wish  has  cheered  me  inexpressibly.  How 
good,  how  noble,  how  tender  you  are  !  Miss  Gordon, 
because  I  am  so  grateful,  let  me  now  say  one  thing. 
You  cannot  help  me  in  future,  and  it  would  grieve 
me  to  think  that  I  fell,  as  an  unlifting  shadow,  be 
tween  your  heart  and  the  sunshine  that  warms  it.  In 
the  night  of  my  wretchedness,  you  have  groped  your 
way  to  me,  and  in  defiance  of  the  circumstances  that 
are  so  cruelly  leagued  to  strangle  me,  you  throw  your 
confidence  like  a  warm  mantle  around  my  shivering 
soul ;  you  have  courageously  laid  your  pure,  womanly 


2S4  AT  THE   MERCY   OF   TIBERIUS. 

hands  in  mine — oh,  God  bless  you  !  God  reward  you ! 
Do  you  think  I  could  bear  to  know  that  I  had  caused 
even  a  hand's  breadth  of  cloud  to  drift  over  the  heav 
enly  blue  of  your  happy  sky  ?  The  bow  of  promise 
that  spans  your  life  is  no  secret.  Let  no  thought  of 
me  jar  the  harmony  that  reigned  before  I  came  here. 
Leave  me  to  my  doom,  which  human  hands  cannot  avert 
now  -,  and  be  happy  without  questioning.  Inexorable 
fate  stands  behind  men  ;  makes  them,  sometimes,  irre 
sponsible  puppets." 

A  deep  flush  had  risen  to  Leo's  temples,  and  with 
drawing  her  hand,  she  shaded  her  face  for  a  moment. 
The  great  bell  below  the  tower  clock  rang  sullenly. 

"  Good-bye,  Miss  Gordon.  I  had  permission  to  stay 
aere  only  till  the  bell  sounded.  Pray  for  me,  bub  do 
aot  come  again.  Visits  to  me  could  bring  you  nothing 
but  sorrow  in  return  for  your  compassion,  and  that 
would  add  to  my  misery.  I  wish  you  a  pleasant 
Christmas,  a  happy  New  Year,  and  as  cloudless  a  life 
as  your  great  goodness  deserves." 

Once  more  their  hands  met,  in  a  long  close  clasp, 
then  Leo  laid  on  the  chancel  railing  a  large  square 
envelope. 

"  It  is  only  a  Christmas  card,  but  so  lovely,  I  know 
your  artistic  taste  cannot  fail  to  admire  it ;  and  it  may 
brighten  your  cheerless  room.  It  is  the  three-hundred- 
dollar-prize-card,  and  particularly  beautiful." 

"  Thank  you,  dear  Miss  Gordon.  It  may  help  to 
deaden  the  merciless  stings  of  memory,  which  all  day 
long  has  tortured  me  by  unrolling  the  past,  where  my 
Christmas  days  stand  out  like  illuminated  capitals  on 
black-letter  pages." 

Deaden  the  stings  of  memory  ?  What  spell  sud 
denly  evoked  the  image  of  her  invalid  mother,  all  the 
details  of  ttie  attic  room,  the  litter  of  pencils  on  the 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  235 

table  ;  the  windows  of  a  florist's  shop  where,  standing 
on  the  pavement,  she  had  studied  hungrily  the  shapes 
of  the  blossoms  poverty  denied  her  as  models  ;  the  in 
terior  of  the  Creche y  which  she  had  penetrated  in  order 
to  sketch  the  heads  of  sleeping  babies,  as  a  study  for 
cherubs  ? 

Loehad  almost  reached  the  door,  when  a  passionate, 
indescribably  mournful  cry  arrested  her  steps. 

"Too  late!— too  late!  O,  God!  What  a  cruel 
mockery  !" 

Beryl  stood  leaning  against  the  railing  of  the  altar, 
with  the  light  of  the  setting  sun  falling  aslant  on  the 
gilded  card  she  held  up  in  one  hand ;  on  her  white  con 
vulsed  face,  where  tears  fell  in  a  scalding  flood.  Re 
tracing  her  steps,  Leo  said  falteringly  : 

"  In  my  efforts  to  comfort  you,  have  I  only  wounded 
more  sorely  ?  How  have  I  hurt  you  ?  What  can  I  do  ?' ' 

"  No — no!  you  are  an  angel  of  pity,  hovering  over  an 
abyss  of  ruin,  whose  darkest  horrors  you  only  imagine 
faintly.  What  can  you  do?  Nothing,  but  pray  to 
God  to  paralyze  my  tongue,  and  grant  me  death,  be 
fore  I  lose  my  last  clutch  on  faith,  and  curse  my  Cre 
ator,  and  drift  down  to  eternal  perdition !  It  was  hard 
enough  before,  but  this  mockery  maddens." 

With  a  sudden  abandonment,  she  hurled  the  card 
away,  threw  her  arms  around  Leo's  neck  and  sobbed 
unrestrainedly.  Tenderly  the  latter  held  her  shivering 
form,  as  the  proud  head  fell  on  her  shoulder;  and  after 
a  time,  Beryl  lifted  a  face  white  as  an  annunciation 
lily,  drenched  by  tropical  rain. 

"  I  thought  misfortune  had  emptied  all  her  vials,  and 
that  I  was  nerved,  because  there  was  nothing  more  to 
dread.  But  the  worst  is  always  behind,  and  this  is  the 
irony  of  fate.  You  think  that  merely  a  rhetorical 
metaphor,  a  tragic  trope?  How  should  you  know? 


236 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


That  Christmas  card  is  the  solitary  dove  I  sent  out  to 
hunt  a  resting-place  for  mother  and  for  me,  when  the 
flood  engulfed  us.  It  was  my  design  sent  to  Boston, 
to  compete  for  the  prizes  offered.  How  I  dreamed,  how 
I  toiled  !  Haunting  the  flower  shops  for  a  glimpse  of 
heartsease,  and  passion  flowers,  and  stars  of  Beth 
lehem  ;  begging  a  butcher  at  the  abattoir  to  spare  a 
lamb,  until  I  could  sketch  it ;  kneeling  by  cradles  in 
the  public  '  Creche  '  to  get  the  full  red  curve  of  a 
baby's  suckirg  lips,  as  they  forsook  the  bottle,  the 
dimple  in  the  tiny  hands,  the  tendrils  of  hair  on  the 
satin  brow !  Over  that  card  I  sang,  and  I  wept;  I 
worked,  hoped,  prayed,  believed  !  So  much  depended 
upon  it !  Could  the  Christ  to  whom  I  dedicated  it,  fail 
to  answer  my  prayer  for  success  ?  Three  hundred  dol 
lars  !  What  a  mint !  It  would  pay  the  doctor,  and 
make  mother  comfortable,  and  get  her  a  warm  new 
suit  for  coming  winter.  Oh!  it  is  so  easy  to  believe  in 
God,  until  He  denies  us ;  and  to  trust  Christ,  till  He 
hurls  our  prayers  back,  and  the  stones  crush  us.  Only 
three  hundred  dollars  between  life  and  death ;  between 
a  happy,  proud  girl  with  a  noble  future,  and  a  dis 
graced,  broken-hearted  wreck  trampled  into  a  convict's 
grave  !  It  would  have  saved  all ;  all  the  awful  conse 
quences  of  the  journey  here,  which  only  dire  extremity 
of  need  forced  upon  me.  On  the  fatal  day  I  started 
South,  I  went  at  the  last  moment,  hoping  that  some 
tidings  from  my  card  would  come  on  angel  wings.  The 
decision  had  been  made,  but  the  awards  were  not  yet 
published,  and  so  my  doom  was  sealed.  To-morrow, 
happy  women,  no  more  innocent  than  I  am,  will  smile 
at  my  Christmas  card,  and  give  it  with  warm  kisses 
and  loving  words  to  their  dear  ones  ;  and  to-day,  my 
white  dove  of  hope,  flies  back  in  my  face,  with  the 
talons  of  a  harpy,  to  devour  me  with  maddening  re- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  237 

minders  of  '  what  might  have  been '.  My  coveted  three 
hundred  dollars  !  Three  hundred  taunting1  fiends  !  to 
jeer  and  torment  me.  The  Christmas  sun  will  shine  on 
a  pauper's  empty  cot  in  a  charity  hospital ;  on  a  dis 
graced,  insulted,  forsaken  convict.  Take  away  this 
last  mockery,  it  is  more  than  I  can  bear.  There  on  the 
back  in  gilt  letters — Prize  Card — Three  Hundred  Dol 
lars  !  Yet  a  stranger  paid  for  my  mother's  coffin, 
and — .  Three  hundred  furies  to  lash  my  heart  out ! 
Too  late !  Take  it  away  !  too  late  !  oh,  too  late !  This 
is  worse  than  the  pangs  of  death." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Christmas  Sabbath  dawned  cold  and  dim,  and 
along  the  eastern  sky  gray  marbled  masses  of 
cloud  with  dun,  stratified  bases,  built  themselves  into 
the  likeness  of  vast  teocallis  to  Tonatiuh,  over  whose 
apex  the  struggling  rays  fell  red  and  presageful. 
Dulled  by  the  stained  glass  windows,  the  light  that  filled 
the  semi-circular  chapel  at "  The  Lilacs",  was  chill  and 
sombre,  until  the  fair  sacristan  held  a  taper  over  the 
tall  wax  candles  on  each  side  of  the  altar,  whence  a  mel 
low  radiance  soon  streamed  over  all ;  flashing  along 
the  golden  letters  under  the  cross,  and  upon  the  gilded 
pipes  of  the  little  organ.  On  the  marble  steps  in  front 
of  the  altar  were  two  baskets  filled  with  white  cam 
ellias,  and  great  spikes  of  pink  and  blue  hyacinths, 
that  seemed  to  break  their  hearts  in  waves  of  aromatic 
incense.  The  family  Bible  of  the  Gordons  lay  open,  on 
the  reading  desk,  and  upon  its  yellow  pages  rested  a 
Maltese  cross  of  snowy  Roman  hyacinths.  Looping 


238  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

back  the  purple  velvet  portiere  over  the  arch  leading 
into  the  library,  Leo  sat  down  on  the  organ  bench  to 
await  the  coming1  of  the  family,  leisurely  arranged  the 
stops,  and  marked  in  her  prayer-book  the  Collect  for 
Christmas.  In  her  morning  robe  of  crimson  cashmere, 
with  its  cascade  of  soft  rich  lace  foaming  from  throat 
to  feet,  and  wearing  a  dainty  cluster  of  double  white 
violets  fastened  just  below  one  ear,  where  the  wax  light 
kissed  her  sunny  hair,  she  appeared  a  St.  Cecilia,  very 
fair  and  sweet,  to  the  eyes  of  the  man  who  stood  a  mo 
ment  unperceived  beneath  the  arch.  A  figure  of  medium 
height,  clad  in  priestly  garments,  with  a  white  sur 
plice  sweeping  to  the  marble  floor ;  a  finely  modelled 
head  thickly  fleeced  with  light  brown  hair,  a  serene 
pleasant  face,  with  regular  features,  deep  set  black 
eyes  magnified  by  spectacles,  and  an  expression  of 
habitual  placidity,  that  bespoke  a  soul  consecrated  by 
noble  aims,  and  at  perfect  peace  with  his  God. 

Hearing  his  step  as  he  crossed  the  floor,  Leo  looked 
over  her  shoulder,  smiled,  and  began  to  play  softly, 
while  he  ascended  the  steps  and  knelt  before  the  altar. 
After  some  moments  Miss  Patty  rustled  in,  sank  on 
her  knees  and  finally  settled  herself  comfortably  on  one 
of  the  crescent-shaped,  cushioned  sofas ;  then  Judge 
Dent  entered,  followed  by  Justine  and  the  aged  negro 
butler,  Joel,  the  two  servants  finding  seats  just  behind 
their  master.  Doctor  Leighton  Douglass  selected  his 
hymns,  and  the  leaves  of  five  prayer-books  fluttered, 
as  Collects  were  found,  but  Leo  continued  to  play. 

Twice  she  turned  and  looked  around  the  chapel,  seek  - 
ing  some  one,  delaying  the  commencement  of  the  ser 
vice.  Finally  accepting  defeat,  her  pretty  fingers  fell 
from  the  keys,  and  with  them  dropped  two  tears,  forced 
from  her  by  the  keen  disappointment  that  robbed  this 
occasion  of  all  its  anticipated  pleasure.  Singularly  free 


AT   THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  239 

from  fashionable  elocutionary  affectations,  and  certain 
declamatory  stage  tricks,  by  which  the  recitation  of  the 
Creed  and  the  Lord's  Prayer  becomes  a  competitive 
test  of  lungs  in  the  race  for  breath,  Leighton  Douglass 
read  the  morning  service,  in  a  well-modulated  voice, 
and  with  a  profound  solemnity  that  left  its  impress  on 
each  heart.  The  responses  were  fervent,  and  the 
Christmas  hymns  were  sung  with  joyful  earnestness  ; 
then  priestly  arms  rose  like  the  wings  of  a  great 
snowy  dove,  and  from  holy,  priestly  lips  fell  the  mellow 
music  of  the  benediction : 

"  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  love 
of  God,  and  the  fellowship  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  with 
us  all  evermore.  Amen." 

Even  while  he  pronounced  the  words,  a  whirring 
rustle  filled  the  beautiful  oratory,  and  two  of  Leo's  pet 
ring-doves,  fluttering  round  and  round  the  frescoed 
ceiling,  descended  swiftly.  One  perched  upon  her  head, 
cooing  softly,  and  its  mate  nestled  down  with  outspread 
pinions,  pecking  at  the  white  muslin  folds  on  Doctor 
Douglass'  shoulder. 

"  Paracletes,  dun  plumed  !  Leo,  let  us  accept  them 
as  happy  auguries,  prophetic  of  divine  blessing  on  our 
future  work  in  the  Master's  vineyard.  My  cousin,  I 
wish  you  a  very  happy  Christmas." 

He  had  approached  the  organ  where  she  sat,  and 
held  out  his  hand. 

"Happy  Christmas,  Leighton,  and  many  thanks  to 
you  for  this  consecrating  service  in  my  place  of  prayer. 
After  to-day,  it  will  always  seem  a  more  hallowed 
shrine,  and  before  you  leave  us,  we  will  gather  here  as 
a  family,  and  join  in  the  celebration  of  the  Holy  Com 
munion." 

They  stood  a  moment  hand  in  hand,  looking  into  each 
other's  eyes ;  and  watching  them,  Miss  Patty's  heart 


210  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

swelled  with  pardonable  pride  in  the  two,  whom  he* 
loving-  arms  had  so  tenderly  cradled.  Pinching  her 
brother's  hand,  as  she  walked  with  him  under  the  vel 
vet  draperies,  she  whispered : 

"  What  a  noble  match  for  both  !  And  he's  only  her 
second  cousin." 

Leo's  eyes  were  wet  with  tears,  which  Doctor  Doug 
lass  ascribed  to  devotional  fervor ;  and  withdrawing 
her  hand,  she  opened  one  of  the  windows,  and  called 
the  doves  to  the  stone  ledge,  putting  them  very  gently 
out  upon  the  ivy  wreaths  that  clambered  up  the  wall, 
and  peeped  into  the  chapel. 

"  I  believe  you  are  sacristan  here  ?"  he  said,  pointing 
to  the  candles  that  flared,  as  the  wind  rushed  in. 

"  Yes,  here  I  sweep,  dust,  decorate  daily,  allowing 
no  other  touch  ;  and  here  I  bring  my  daintiest,  rarest 
flowers,  as  tribute  to  Him  who  tapestried  the  earth 
with  blossoms,  and  sprinkled  it  with  perfumes — when  ? 
Not  until  just  before  the  advent  of  humanity,  whose 
material  kingdom  was  perfected,  and  furnished  in  an 
ticipation  of  his  arrival." 

Extinguishing  the  candles,  she  closed  the  old  Bible, 
covered  it  with  a  square  of  velvet,  and  hung  the  cross 
of  hyacinths  upon  the  folded  hands  of  one  of  the 
marble  angels  that  upheld  the  altar. 

"  Pure-handed  women  are  natural  priestesses,  meet 
for  temple  ministration  ;  and  I  have  no  doubt  your  ex 
oteric  labors  here,  merely  typify  the  secret  daily  sweep 
ing  out  of  evil  thoughts,  the  dusting  away  of  motes  of 
selfishness,  the  decorating  with  noble  beautiful  aims, 
and  holy  deeds,  whereby  you  sanctify  that  inner  shrine, 
your  own  soul." 

"  Praise  from  you  means  so  much,  that  you  need 
not  stoop  to  flatter  me.  The  very  vestments  of  you 
Levites  should  exhale  infectious  humility  ;  and  I  especi- 


AT  THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  241 

ally  need  exhortations  against  pride,  my  besetting  sin. 
I  built  this  chapel,  not  because  I  am  good,  but  in  order 
to  grow  better.  Every  dwelling  has  its  room  in  which 
the  inmates  gather  to  eat,  to  study,  to  work,  to  sleep  ; 
why  not  to  pray,  the  most  important  privilege  of  many 
that  divide  humanity  from  brutes?  After  all,  the 
pagans  were  wiser  than  we,  and  the  heads  of  families 
were  household  priests,  setting  examples  of  piety  at 
every  rising  of  the  sun." 

"  Let  us  see.  Greek  and  Roman  fathers  laid  a  cake 
dripping  with  wine,  a  wreath  of  violets,  a  heart  of 
honey-comb,  a  brace  of  doves  on  the  home  altar,  and 
immediately  thereafter,  set  the  example  of  violating 
every  clause  in  the  Decalogue.  Mark  you,  paganism 
drew  fine  lines  in  morals,  long  anterior  to  the  era  of 
monotheism  and  of  Moses,  and  furnished  immortal  types 
of  all  the  virtues  ;  yet  the  excess  of  its  religious  cere 
monial,  robbed  it  of  vital  fructifying  energies.  The 
frequency  and  publicity  of  sacerdotal  service,  usurped 
the  place  of  daily  individual  piety.  The  tendency 
of  all  outward  symbolical  observances,  unduly  multi 
plied,  is  to  substitute  mere  formalism  for  fervor." 

"  Leigh  ton,  humanity  craves  the  concrete.  All  the 
universe  is  God's  temple,  yet  the  chill  breath  of  the 
abstract  freezes  our  hearts ;  and  we  pray  best  in  some 
pillared  niche  consecrated  and  set  apart.  I  recall  a  day 
in  Umbria,  when  the  wonderful  light  of  sunset  fell  on 
ilex  and  olive,  on  mountain  snows,  on  valleys  billowing 
between  vine-mantled  hills,  on  creamy  marble  walls, 
on  columned  campaniles ;  and  standing  there,  I  seemed 
verily  to  absorb,  to  become  saturated  as  it  were,  with 
l«j  reigning  essence  of  beauty.  I  walked  on,  a  few 
steps,  lifted  a  worn,  frayed  leather  curtain,  and  looked 
M  to  a  small  gray,  dingy  church,  where  a  mist  of  incense 
blurred  the  lights  on  the  ancient  altar,  and  the  muffled 


24:2  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

roll  of  an  organ  broke  into  sonorous  waves,  like  rever 
berations  of  far-away  thunder ;  and  why  was  it,  tell  me, 
that  the  universal  glory  thrilled  me  only  as  a  sensuous 
chord  of  color,  but  in  the  dark  corner  consecrated  to 
the  worship  of  our  God,  my  soul  expanded,  as  if  a  holy 
finger  touched  it,  and  I  fell  on  my  knees,  and  prayed  ? 
Each  of  us  comes  into  this  world  dowered  with  the  be 
hest  to  make  desperate  war  against  that  indissoluble 
'  Triple  Alliance,  the  World,  the  Flesh  and  the  Devil/ 
and  needing  all  the  auxiliaries  possible,  I  resort  to  con 
scription  wherever  I  can  recruit.  Since  I  am  two 
thousand  years  too  young  to  set  up  a  statue  of  Hestia 
yonder  hi  my  imitation  prostas,  I  have  built  instead 
this  small  sacred  nook  for  prayer,which  helps  me  spiritu 
ally,  much  as  the  Ulah  aids  Islam." 

"  Your  oratory  is  lovely,  and  I  wish  its  counterpart 
adorned  every  homestead  in  our  land;  but  are  you 
quite  sure  that  in  your  individual  experience  you  are 
not  mistaking  effect  for  cause  ?  Your  holy  heart  de 
mands  fit  shrine  for — " 

"  I  am  quite  sure  I  will  not  allow  you  to  stand  a  mo 
ment  longer  on  this  cold  floor ;  and  I  do  not  intend 
that  you  shall  pay  me  undeserved  compliments.  It  is 
derogatory  to  your  dignity,  and  dangerous  to  my  mo 
dicum  of  humility.  As  soon  as  you  are  ready  for 
breakfast,  come  to  the  dining-room,  where  Santa  Klaus 
left  his  remembrances  last  night.  O,  Leighton !  I 
had  half  a  mind  to  hang  up  two  stockings  at 
uncle's  bed,  for  the  sake  of  dear  old  lang  syne.  If  we 
could  only  shut  our  eyes,  and  drift  back  to  the  magical 
time  of  aprons,  short  clothes,  and  roundabouts,  when 
a  sugar  rooster  with  green  wings  and  pink  head,  and  a 
doll  that  could  open  and  shut  her  eyes,  were  considered 
more  precious  than  Tiffany's  jewels,  or  Collamore's 
Grown  Derby  !  Oan  Delmonioo  offer  you  a  repast  half 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS  243 

as  appetizing  as  the  hominy,  the  tea  cakes,  the  honey 
and  the  sweet  milk  which  you  and  I  used  to  enjoy  at 
our  supper  just  at  sunset,  at  our  own  little  table  set 
under  the  red  mulberry  trees  in  the  back  yard  ?" 

"  Why  should  my  cousin,  whose  present  is  so  rose- 
colored,  whose  future  so  blissful,  turn  to  rake  amid 
the  ashes  of  the  past  ?" 

'  *  Because,  like  Lot's  wife,  we  are  all  prone  to 
stare  backward.  Who  lives  in  the  present  ?  Do 
you  ?  When  we  are  young-  we  pant  for  the  future, 
that  pitches  painted  tents  before  us.  When  we  are 
older,  we  live  in  the  past,  that  wraps  itself  in  a  sacred 
gilding  glamour,  and  is  vocal  with  the  happy  echoes 
which  alone  survive.  Far-off  fields  before  and  behind  us 
are  so  dewy,  so  vividly  green ;  and  the  present  is  gray 
and  stony,  and  barren  of  charm,  and  we  turn  fret 
fully.  It  is  part  of  the  grim  tyranny  of  Time  that  it 
is  tideless  ;  that  the  stream  bears  remorselessly  on, 
and  on,  never  back  to  the  dear  old  spots  ;  always  on, 
to  lose  itself  in  the  eternal  and  unknown.  So,  to-day's 
Christmas  lacks  the  zest  of  its  predecessors." 

Leo  loosened  the  gilded  chain  that  looped  the  cur 
tains,  and  as  the  purple  folds  fell  behind  her,  hiding 
the  arch,  Doctor  Douglass  said  gently  : 

"  There  is  a  solemn  truth  and  wise  admonition  in  one 
of  Rabbi  Tyra's  dicta  :  '  Thy  yesterday  is  thy  past ; 
thy  to-day  is  thy  future  ;  thy  to-morrow  is  a  secret.' ' 

"  Leo,  here  is  a  package  and  a  note  which  arrived 
during  service,  and  as  Mr.  Dunbar's  servant  said  there 
was  no  answer  expected,  he  did  not  wait." 

As  Miss  Patty  delivered  the  parcel  to  her  niece,  the 
minister  walked  away  to  lay  aside  his  vestments,  but 
he  noted  the  sudden  hardening  of  his  cousin's  face, 
the  flush  of  displeasure,  the  haughty  curl  of  her  lips ; 
and  on  his  ears  fell  his  aunt's  voice  : 


244  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"  You  expected  and  waited  for  him  at  morning 
prayer?" 

"  I  invited  him  to  join  us,  if  he  felt  disposed  to  do 
so." 

' l  What  possible  excuse  can  he  offer  for  such  negli 
gence,  when  he  knew  that  Leighton  would  read  the 
service  ?" 

An  unwonted  sparkle  leaped  into  Leo's  mild  hazel 
eyes,  and  without  examination  she  handed  the  package 
and  note  to  Justine. 

"  Lay  them  in  the  drawer  of  my  writing-desk,  and 
then  call  all  the  servants  into  the  dining-room.  Auntie, 
tardy  excuses  must  wait  longer  for  an  audience  than 
we  waited  for  the  writer.  Come  to  breakfast ;  uncle 
will  be  impatient,  and  I  want  to  enjoy  his  surprise 
when  he  sees  his  Santa  Klaus." 

She  was  sorely  disappointed,  deeply  affronted  by  Mr. 
Dunbar's  failure  to  present  himself  on  an  occasion  at 
which  she  had  especially  desired  his  presence  ;  and  as 
she  recalled  the  affectionate  phraseology  of  her  note  of 
invitation,  her  fair  cheek  burned  with  an  intolerable 
sense  of  humiliation.  Was  it  partition,  or  total  loss,  of 
her  precious  kingdom  ?  In  after  years,  she  designated 
this  Christmas  as  the  era  when  the  "  sceptre  departed 
from  Judah  ;"  but  putting  away  the  chagrin,  and  seal 
ing  the  well  of  bitterness  in  her  heart,  she  exchanged 
holiday  greetings,  and  proudly  wore  her  royal  robes 
throughout  the  day,  holding  sternly  off  the  spectre, 
which  grimly  bided  its  time — the  hour  of  her  abdication. 

Through  the  benevolent  and  compassionate  efforts  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Singleton,  some  faint  reflection  of  the  out 
side  world  festivities  penetrated  the  dismal  monotony 
of  prison  routine  ;  and  the  hearts  of  the  inmates  were 
softened  and  gladdened  by  kind  tokens  of  remembrance, 
that  carried  the  thoughts  of  bearded  convicts  back  to 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  245 

Christmas  carols  in  innocent  youth,  and  to  the  mother's 
knees  where  prayers  were  lisped. 

Illness  had  secured  to  Beryl  immunity  from  contact 
with  her  comrades  in  misery,  and  except  to  visit  the 
little  chapel,  she  never  left  the  sheltering-  walls  of  her 
small,  comfortless  room,  grateful  for  the  unexpected 
boon  of  silent  seclusion.  Her  Christmas  greeting-  had 
been  little  Dick's  sweet  lips  kissing  her  cheek,  as  he 
deposited  upon  her  narrow  bed  the  black  and  white 
shawl  his  mother  had  knitted,  and  a  box  left  by  Miss 
Gordon  on  the  previous  day,  which  contained  half  a 
dozen  pretty  handkerchiefs  with  mourning  borders, 
some  delicate  perfume  and  soaps,  toilet  brushes  and  a 
sachet. 

An  hour  later,  when  Mrs.  Singleton  and  her  babies 
had  gone  to  spend  the  day  with  relatives  in  the  city, 
Beryl  went  to  the  window,  pushed  the  sash  up,  and  lis 
tened  to  the  ringing  of  the  Sabbath-school  bells,-  as 
every  church  beyond  the  river  called  its  nursery  to  the 
altar,  to  celebrate  the  day.  The  metallic  clangor  was 
mellowed  by  distance,  rising  and  falling  like  rhythmic 
waves,  and  the  faint  echo,  filtered  through  dense  pine 
forests  behind  the  penitentiary,  had  the  ghostly  iter 
ation  of  the  Folge  Fond. 

A  gaunt  yellow  kitten,  with  a  faded  red  ribbon  knot 
ted  about  its  neck,  and  vicious,  amber-colored  eyes 
that  were  a  perpetual  challenge,  had  fled  from  the  ten 
der  mercies  of  Dick  to  the  city  of  refuge  under  Beryl's 
cot ;  and  community  of  suffering  had  kindled  an  at 
tachment  that  now  prompted  the  lesser  waif  to  spring 
into  the  girl's  folded  arms,  and  rub  its  head  against 
her  shoulder.  Mechanically  Beryl's  hand  stroked  the 
creature's  ear,  while  it  purred  softly  under  the  caress ; 
but  suddenly  its  back  curved  into  an  arch,  the  tail 
broadened,  the  purr  became  a  growl.  Had  association 


246 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


lifted  the  brute's  instincts  to  the  plane  of.  human  an« 
tipathies  ? 

The  warden  had  opened  the  door  and  quickly  closed 
it,  after  ushering-  in  a  tall  figure,  who  wore  an  over 
coat  which  was  buttoned  from  throat  to  knees.  At 
sight  of  Mr.  Dunbar,  the  cat  plunged  to  the  floor,  and 
sped  away  to  the  darkest  corner  under  the  iron  bed 
stead. 

"  Good  morning.  I  dare  not  utter  here  the  greet 
ings  of  the  day,  because  you  would  construe  it  into  & 
heartless  mockery." 

He  came  forward  hesitatingly,  and  she  turned  swiftly 
away,  pressing  her  face  against  the  bars  of  the  window, 
waving  him  back. 

' '  Why  will  you  persist  in  regarding  as  an  enemy, 
the  one  person  hi  all  the  world  who  is  most  anxious  to 
befriend  you  ?" 

Still  no  answer ;  only  the  repellent  gesture  warning 
him  away. 

"  Will  you  allow  me,  this  Christmas  morning,  to 
comfort  myself  in  some  degree,  by  leaving  here  a  few 
flowers  to  brighten  your  desolate  surroundings  ?" 

He  held  out  a  bouquet  of  rare  and  brilliant  hot 
house  blossoms,  whose  delicious  fragrance  had  already 
pervaded  the  room.  They  stood  side  by  side,  yet  she 
shrank  farther,  and  kept  her  face  averted,  shivering 
perceptibly.  Lifting  one  arm  he  drew  down  the  sash 
to  shut  out  the  freezing  air. 

"  You  are  resolved  neither  to  look  at  nor  speak  to 
me  ?  So  be  it.  At  least  you  must  listen  to  me.  You 
may  not  care  to  hear  that  I  have  been  absent,  but  per 
haps  it  will  interest  you  to  know  that  I  went  in  search 
of  the  man  for  whose  crime  you  are  paying  the  pen 
alty." 

If  he  expected  her  to  wince  under  the  probe,  her 


AT  THE   MERCY   OF   TIBERIUS. 

nerves  were  taut,  and  she  defied  the  steel ;  but  the  face 
she  now  turned  fully  to  him  was  so  blanched  by  illness, 
so  hopeless  in  its  rigid  calm,  that  he  felt  a  keen  pain  at 
his  own  heart. 

"  Prisoners,  victims  of  justice,  have,  it  seems,  no 
priyileges;  else  my  one  request,  my  earnest  prayer  to  be 
shielded  from  your  presence,  might  have  protected  me 
from  this  intrusion.  Are  you  akin  to  Parrhasius  that 
you  come  to  gloat  over  the  agonies  of  a  moral  and  men 
tal  vivisection  ?  The  sight  of  suffering  to  which  you 
have  brought  a  helpless  woman,  is  scarcely  the  recom 
pense  I  was  taught  to  suppose  agreeable  to  a  chival 
rous  Southern  gentleman.  If,  wearing  the  red  livery 
of  Justice,  undue  zeal  for  vengance  betrayed  you  into 
the  fatal  mistake  of  trampling  me  into  this  horrible 
place,  there  might  be  palliation ;  but  for  the  brutal 
persistency  with  which  you  thrust  your  tormenting 
presence  upon  me,  not  even  heavenly  charity  could  pos 
sibly  find  pardon.  Literally  you  are  heaping  insult 
upon  awful  injury.  Is  it  a  refinement  of  cruelty  that 
brings  you  here  to  watch  and  analyze  my  suffering,  as 
a  biologist  looks  through  lenses  at  an  insect  he  empales, 
or  Pasteur  scrutinizes  the  mortal  throes  of  the  victims 
into  whose  veins  he  has  injected  poison  ?" 

If  she  had  drawn  a  lash  across  his  face,  it  would  not 
have  stung  more  keenly  than  her  words,  so  expressive 
of  detestation. 

"  Will  you  consider  for  a  moment  the  possibility 
that  other  motives  actuate  me ;  that  ceaseless  regret, 
remorse,  if  you  choose,  for  a  terrible  mistake,  impels 
me  to  come  here  in  the  hope  of  making  reparation  ?" 

"  Such  a  supposition  is  as  inconceivable  as  the  idea 
of  reparation.  When  a  reaper  goes  forth  to  his  ripe 
harvest,  his  lawful  labor,  and  wantonly  turns  aside 
into  a  by-path,  to  try  the  edge  of  his  sickle  on  an 


24$  AT   THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

humble,  unoffending1  stalk  that  fights  for  life  among  the 
grass  and  weeds,  and  struggles  to  get  its  head 
sufficiently  in  the  sunshine  to  bloom — when  he  cuts  ii 
off  unopened,  crushes  it  into  the  sod,  can  he  make 
reparation?  Although  it  is  neither  bearded  yellow 
wheat,  nor  yet  a  black  tare,  it  proved  the  temper  of 
his  blade ;  and  all  the  skill,  all  the  science  of  universal 
humanity,  cannot  re-erect  the  stem,  cannot  remove 
the  stains,  cannot  unfold  the  bruised  petals.  There 
are  wrongs  that  all  time  will  never  repair.  Your 
sword  of  justice  needs  no  whetting;  one  stroke  has 
laid  me  low." 

"  I  purpose  to  file  it  two-edged,  in  order  to  make  no 
more  mistakes.  Before  long  I  shall  cut  down  the  real 
criminal,  the  principal,  who  shall  not  escape,  and  for 
whom  you  shall  not  suffer." 

"Then  '  a  life  for  a  life'  no  longer  satisfies  ?  How 
many  are  required  ?  The  law  has  need  of  a  sacrificial 
stone  wide  as  that  of  the  Aztecs.  Is  justice  a 
*  daughter  of  the  horse-leech'  ?" 

"  So  help  me  God— " 

"  Hush  !  Take  not  His  name  upon  your  lips.  Men 
like  you  cannot  afford  to  credit  the  existence  of  a  holy 
God.  This  is  Christmas — at  least  according  to  the 
almanac — now  as  a  '  chivalrous  Southern  gentleman,' 
will  you  grant  me  a  very  great  favor  if  I  humbly  crave 
it?  Ah,  noblesse  oblige!  you  cannot  deny  me.  I 
beg  of  you,  then,  leave  me  instantly;  come  here  no 
more.  Never  let  me  see  your  face  again,  or  hear  your 
voice,  except  in  the  court-room,  when  I  am  tried  for 
the  crime  which  you  have  told  the  world  I  committed. 
This  boon  is  the  sole  possible  reparation  loft  you." 

She  had  clasped  her  hands  so  tightly,  that  the  naila 
were  bloodless,  and  the  fluttering  in  her  white  throat 
betrayed  the  throbbing  of  her  heart. 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  .249 

"  You  are  afraid  of  me,  because  you  dread  my  dis 
covering"  your  secret,  which  is — " 

"  You  have  done  your  worst.  You  have  locked  me 
away  from  a  dying-  mother;  disgraced  an  innocent 
life ;  broken  a  girl's  pure,  happy  heart ;  what  else  is 
there  to  dread  ?  Although  a  bird  knows  full  well 
when  it  has  received  its  death  wound,  instinct  drives  it 
to  fl  utter,  drag  itself  as  far  as  possible  from  the  gaze 
of  the  sportsman,  and  gasp  out  its  agony  in  some 
lonely  place." 

"  When  I  hunt  birds,  and  a  partridge  droops  its 
wings,  and  hovers  almost  at  my  feet,  inviting  capture, 
I  know  beyond  all  peradventure  that  it  is  only  love's 
ruse  ;  that  something  she  holds  dearer  than  her  own 
life,  is  thereby  screened,  saved.  You  are  guilty  of  a 
great  crime  against  yourself,  you  are  submitting 
tacitly,  consenting  to  an  awful  doom,  in  order  to  spare 
and  protect  the  real  murderer." 

He  bent  closer,  watching  breathlessly  for  some 
change  in  her  white  stony  face ;  but  her  sad  eyes  met 
his  with  no  wavering  of  the  lids,  and  only  her  delicate 
nostrils  dilated  slightly.  She  raised  her  locked  hands, 
rested  her  lips  a  moment  on  her  mother's  ring,  as  if 
drinking  some  needed  tonic,  and  answered  hi  the  same 
low,  quiet  tone  : 

"Then,  prime  minister  of  justice,  set  me  free,  and 
punish  the  guilty.  Who  murdered  General 
Darrington?" 

"  You  have  known  from  the  beginning;  and  I  intend 
to  set  you  free,  when  that  cowardly  miscreant  has  been 
secured.  You  would  die  to  save  your  lover ;  you, 
proud,  brave,  noble  natured,  would  sacrifice  your 
precious  life  for  that  wretched,  vile  poltroon,  who  flees 
and  leaves  you  to  suffer  in  his  stead  !  Truly,  there  is 
no  mystery  so  profound,  so  complex,  so  subtle  as  a 


250  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

woman's  heart.    To  die  for  his  crimes,  were  a  happier  . 
fate  than  to  sully  your  fair  soul  by  alliance  with  one 
so  degraded ;    and,  by  the  help  of  God,  I  intend  to 
snatch  you  from  both  !" 

He  had  put  his  hands  for  an  instant  upon  her  should 
ers,  and  his  handsome  face  flushed,  eloquent  with  the 
feeling-  that  he  no  longer  cared  to  disguise,  was  so  close 
to  hers,  that  she  felt  his  breath  on  her  cheek. 

Swiftly,  unerringly  she  comprehended  everything ; 
and  the  suddenness  of  the  discovery  dazzled,  awed  her, 
as  one  might  feel  under  the  blue  flash  of  a  dagger 
when  thrust  into  one's  clasp  for  novice  fingers  to  feel 
the  edge.  Was  the  weapon  valued  merely  because  of 
the  possibility  of  fleshing  it  in  the  heart  of  him  who 
had  darkened  her  life  ?  Did  he  understand  as  fully  the 
marvellous  change  in  the  beautiful  face,  that  had 
lured  him  from  his  chapel  tryst  with  his  betrothed* 
He  was  on  the  alert  for  signals  of  distress,  of  em 
barrassment,  of  terror ;  but  what  meant  the  glad  light 
that  leaped  up  in  her  eyes,  the  quick  flush  staining1 
her  wan  cheek,  the  triumphant  smile  curving  lips  that 
a  moment  before  might  have  belonged  to  Guercino's 
Mater  Dolorosa,  the  relaxation  of  figure  and  features, 
the  unmistakable  expression  of  intense  relief  that  stole 
into  the  countenance  ? 

"Will  you  be  so  good  as  to  tell  me  my  lover's  name, 
and  where  the  fox  terriers  of  the  law  unearthed  him  ?" 

'  *  I  will  tell  you  something-  which  you  do  not  already 
know  ;  that  I  have  found  a  clue,  that  I  shall  hunt  him 
out,  hide,  crouch  where  he  may ;  that  here,  where  he 
sinned,  he  shall  expiate  his  crime,  and  that  when  your 
lover  is  hung,  your  name,  your  honor,  shall  be  vin 
dicated.  So  much,  Lennox  Dunbar  promises  you,  on 
his  honor  as  a  gentleman." 

"Words,  vapid  words!     Empty,  worthless  as  last 


AT   THE   MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  251 

year's  nests.  My  lover,"  she  laughed  scornfully, 
"  is  quite  safe  even  from  your  malevolence.  If  indeed 
'  one  touch  of  nature  makes  the  whole  world  kin/  one 
might  expect  some  pity  from  the  guild  of  love  swains ; 
and  it  augurs  sadly  for  Miss  Gordon's  future,  that  the 
spell  is  so  utterly  broken." 

His  dark  face  reddened,  lowered. 

"  If  you  please,  we  will  keep  Miss  Gordon's  name 
out  of  the  conversation,  and  hereafter  when — ' 

"  Enough !  I  shall  keep  her  image  in  my  grateful 
heart,  the  few  tedious  months  I  have  to  live;  and 
there  seems  indeed  a  sort  of  poetic  justice  in  the  fact 
fthat  the  bride  you  covet,  has  become  the  truest,  ten- 
<lerest  friend  of  the  hapless  girl  whom  you  are  prosecut 
ing  for  murder." 

"  Beryl—" 

"  I  forbid  such  insolent  presumption!  You  shall  not 
atter  the  name  my  father  gave  me.  It  is  holy  as  my 
baptism  ;  it  must  be  kept  unsullied  for  my  lover's  lips 
to  fondle.  This  is  your  last  visit  here,  for  if  you  dare 
to  intrude  again,  I  will  demand  protection  from  the 
pvarden.  I  will  bear  no  more." 

As  he  looked  at  her,  the  witchery  of  her  youthful 
loveliness,  heightened  by  the  angry  sparkle  in  her  deep 
eyes,  by  the  vivid  carnation  of  her  curling  lips,  master 
ed  him;  and  when  he  thought  of  the  brown-haired 
woman  to  whom  he  was  pledged,  he  set  his  teeth  tight, 
to  smother  an  execration.  He  moved  toward  the 
door,  paused,  and  came  back. 

"Will  it  comfort  you  to  know  that  I  suffer  even 
more  than  you  do ;  that  I  am  plunged  into  a  fiercer 
purgatory  than  that  to  which  I  have  condemned  you  ? 
7.  am  devoured  by  regret ;  but  I  will  atone.  I  came 
here  as  your  friend  ;  I  can  never  be  less,  and  in  defi 
ance  of  your  hatred,  I  shall  prove  my  sincerity.  Be- 


252  AT   THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

cause  I  bemoan  my  rash  haste,  will  you  say  good-bye 
kindly  ?  Some  day,  perhaps,  you  will  understand." 

He  held  out  his  hand,  and  his  blue  eyes  lost  their 
steely  glitter,  filled  with  a  prayer  for  pardon. 

She  picked  up  the  bouquet  which  had  fallen  from 
the  window  sill  to  the  floor,  and  without  hesitation  put 
it  into  his  fingers  : 

'  *  I  think  I  understand  all  that  words  could  ever  ex- 
pi  am.  My  short  stream  of  life  is  very  near  the  great 
ocean  of  rest.  I  have  ceased  to  struggle,  ceased  to 
hope ;  and  since  the  end  is  so  close,  I  wish  no  active 
warfare  even  with  those  who  wronged  me  most  foully. 
If  you  will  spare  me  the  sight  of  you,  I  will  try  to  for 
get  the  added  misery  of  the  visits  you  have  forced  up 
on  me,  and  perhaps  some  of  the  bitterness  may  die 
out.  Take  the  flowers  to  Miss  Gordon  ;  leave  no  trace 
to  remind  me  of  your  persecution.  We  bear 
chastisement  because  we  must,  but  the  sight  of  the 
rod  renews  the  sting  ;  so,  henceforth,  I  hope  to  see  you 
no  more.  When  we  meet  before  our  God,  I  may  have 
a  new  heart,  swept  clean  of  earthly  hate,  but  until 
then — until  then — " 

He  caught  her  fingers,  crushed  his  lips  against 
them,  and  walked  from  the  room,  leaving  the  bouquet 
a  shattered  mass  of  perfume  in  the  middle  of  the  floor. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

TANDING  before  Leon  Gerome's  tragic  picture, 
and  listening  to  the  sepulchral  echo  that  floats 
down  the  arcade  of  centuries/'  Ave,  Imperator>  mori- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  253 

turi  te  salutant"  nineteenth  century  womanhood 
frowns,  and  deplores  the  brutal  depravity  which  alone 
explains  the  presence  of  that  white- veiled  vestal  band, 
whose  snowy  arms  are  thrust  in  signal  over  the  parapet 
of  the  bloody  arena  ;  yet  fair  daughters  of  the  latest 
civilization  show  unblushing  flower  faces  among  the 
heaving  mass  of  the  "great  unwashed"  who  crowd  our 
court-rooms — and  listen  to  revolting  details  more  re 
pugnant  to  genuine  modesty,  than  the  mangled  re 
mains  in  the  Colosseum.  The  rosy  thumbs  of  Roman 
vestals  were  potent  ballots  in  the  Eternal  City,  and 
possibly  were  thrown  only  in  the  scale  of  mercy ;  but 
having  no  voice  in  verdicts,  to  what  conservative 
motive  may  be  ascribed  the  presence  of  women  at  crim 
inal  trials  ?  Are  the  children  of  Culture,  the  heiresses 
of  "  all  the  ages  ",  really  more  refined  than  the  proud 
old  dames  of  the  era  of  Spartacus  ? 

Is  the  spectacle  of  mere  physical  torture,  in  gladia 
torial  combats,  or  in  the  bloody  precincts  of  plaza  de 
toros,  as  grossly  demoralizing  as  the  loathsome  minu 
tiae  of  heinous  crimes  upon  which  legal  orators  dilate ; 
and  which  Argus  reporters,  with  magnifying  lenses  at 
every  eye,  reproduce  for  countless  newspapers,  that 
serve  as  wings  for  transporting  moral  dynamite  to 
hearthstones  and  nurseries  all  over  our  land  ?  Is  there 
a  distinction,  without  a  difference,  between  police  ga 
zettes  and  the  journalistic  press  ? 

If  extremes  meet,  and  the  march  of  human  progress 
be  along  no  asymtotic  line,  is  the  day  very  distant 
when  we  shall  welcome  the  Renaissance  of  that  wis 
dom  which  two  thousand  years  ago  held  its  august 
tribunal  in  the  solemn  hours  of  night,  when  darkness 
hid  from  the  Judges  everything  save  well-authenti 
cated  facts?  The  supreme  aim  of  civil  and  criminal 
law  being  the  conservation  of  national  and  individu* ' 


AT   THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

purity,  to  what  shall  we  attribute  the  paradox  present 
ed  in  its  administration,  whereby  its  temples  become 
lairs  of  libel,  their  moral  atmosphere  defiled  by  the 
monstrous  vivisection  of  parental  character  by  chil 
dren,  the  slaughter  of  family  reputation,  the  exhaustive 
analysis  of  every  species  of  sin  forbidden  by  the  Deca 
logue,  and  floods  of  vulgar  vituperation  dreadful  as  the 
Apocalyptic  vials  ?  Can  this  generation 

"  — in  the  foremost  files  of  time —  " 

afford  to  believe  that  a  grim  significance  lurks  in  the 
desuetude  of  typical  judicial  ermine  ? 

Traditions  of  ante  bellum  custom  proclaimed  that 
"  good  society"  in  the  town  of  X ,  formerly  consid 
ered  the  precincts  of  courts  as  unfit  for  ladies  as  the  fetid 
air  of  morgues,  or  the  surgical  instruments  on  dissect 
ing  tables  ;  but  the  vanguard  of  cosmopolitan  freedom 
and  progress  had  pitched  tents  in  the  old-fashioned 
place,  and  recruited  rapidly  from  the  ranks  of  the  in 
vaded  ;  hence  it  came  to  pass,  that  on  the  second  day 
of  the  murder  trial,  when  the  preliminaries  of  jury 
empanelling  had  been  completed,  and  all  were  ready  to 
launch  the  case,  X announced  its  social  emancipa 
tion  from  ancient  canons  of  decorum,  by  the  unwonted 
spectacle  of  benches  crowded  with  " ladies",  whose 
silken  garments  were  crushed  against  the  coarser 
fabrics  of  proletariat.  Despite  the  piercing  cold  of  a 
morning  late  in  February,  the  mass  of  human  furnaces 
had  liaised  the  temperature  to  a  degree  that  encouraged 
the  fluttering  of  fans,  and  necessitated  the  order  that 
no  additional  spectators  should  be  admitted. 

Viewed  through  the  leaden  haze  of  fearful  anticipa 
tion,  the  horror  of  the  impending  trial  had  seemed  un 
endurable  to  the  proud  and  sensitive  girl,  whom  the 
Sheriff  placed  on  a  seat  fronting  the  sea  of  curious 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  255 

faces,  the  battery  of  scrutinizing  eyes  turned  on  her 
from  the  jury-box.  Four  months  of  dread  had  un 
nerved  her,  yet  now  when  the  cruel  actuality  seized  her 
in  its  iron  grasp,  that  superb  strength  which  the  in 
evitable  lends  to  conscious  innocence,  so  steeled  and 
fortified  her,  that  she  felt  lifted  to  some  lonely  height, 
where  numbness  eased  her  aching  wounds. 

Pallid  and  motionless,  she  sat  like  a  statue,  save  for 
the  slow  strokes  of  her  right  hand  upon  the  red  gold 
of  her  mother's  ring ;  and  the  sound  of  ~a  man's  voice 
reading  a  formula,  seemed  to  echo  from  an  immeasur 
able  distance.  She  had  consented  to,  had  deliber 
ately  accepted  the  worst  possible  fate,  and  realized  thf* 
isolation  of  her  lot ;  but  for  one  thing  she  was  not  pre 
pared,  and  its  unexpectedness  threatened  to  shiver  her 
calmness.  Two  women  made  their  way  toward  her  * 
Dyce  and  Sister  Serena.  The  former  sat  down  in  th^ 
rear  of  the  prisoner,  the  latter  stood  for  a  few  seconds, 
and  her  thin  delicate  hand  fell  upon  the  girl's  shoulder. 
At  sight  of  the  sweet,  placid  countenance  below  the 
floating  white  muslin  veil,  Beryl's  lips  quivered  into  a 
sad  smile;  and  as  they  shook  hands  she  whispered  : 

"  I  believe  even  the  gallows  will  not  frighten  you 
two  from  my  side." 

Sister  Serena  seated  herself  as  close  as  possible,  drew 
from  her  pocket  a  gray  woollen  stocking,  and  began  to 
knit.  For  an  instant  Beryl's  eyes  closed,  to  shut  in  the 
sudden  gush  of  grateful  tears ;  when  she  opened  them, 
Mr.  Churchill  had  risen  : 

"  May  it  please  the  Court,  Gentlemen  of  the  Jury  : 
If  fidelity  to  duty  involved  no  sacrifice  of  personal  feel 
ing,  should  we  make  it  the  touchstone  of  human  char 
acter,  value  it  as  the  most  precious  jewel  in  the  crown 
of  human  virtues  ?  I  were  less  than  a  man,  immeas 
urably  less  than  a  gentleman,  were  I  capable  of  ad- 


256  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

dressing  you  to-day,  in  obedience  to  the  behests  of  jus 
tice,  and  in  fulfilment  of  the  stern  requirements  of  my 
official  position,  without  emotions  of  profound  regret, 
that  implacable  Duty,  to  Whom  I  have  sworn  alleg 
iance,  forces  me  to  hush  the  pleading  whispers  of  my 
pitying  heart,  to  smother  the  tender  instincts  of  human 
sympathy,  and  to  listen  only  to  the  solemn  mandate  of 
those  laws,  which  alone  can  secure  to  our  race  the  en 
joyment  of  life,  liberty  and  property.  An  extended 
professional  career  has  hitherto  furnished  me  no  par 
allel  for  the  peculiarly  painful  exigencies  of  this  occa 
sion  ;  and  an  awful  responsibility  scourges  me  with 
scorpion  lash  to  a  most  unwelcome  task.  When  man 
crosses  swords  with  man  on  any  arena,  innate  pride 
nerves  his  arm  and  kindles  enthusiasm,  but  alas,  for 
the  man  !  be  he  worthy  the  name,  who  draws  his 
blade  and  sees  before  him  a  young,  helpless,  beautiful 
woman,  disarmed.  Were  it  not  a  bailable  offence  in  the 
court  of  honor,  if  his  arm  fell  palsied  ?  Each  of  you  who 
has  a  mother,  a  wife,  a  lily  browed  daughter,  put  your 
self  in  my  place,  lend  me  your  sympathy  ;  and  at  least 
applaud  the  loyalty  that  strangles  all  individuality,  and 
renders  me  bound  thrall  of  official  duty.  Counsel  for  the 
defence  has  been  repeatedly  offered,  nay,  pressed  upon 
the  prisoner,  but  as  often  persistently  rejected  ;  hence 
the  almost  paralyzing  repugnance  with  which  I  ap 
proach  my  theme. 

"The  Grand  Jury  of  the  county,  at  its  last  sitting, 
returned  to  this  court  a  bill  of  indictment,  charging 
the  prisoner  at  the  bar  with  the  wilful,  deliberate  and 
premeditated  murder  of  Robert  Luke  Darrington,  by 
striking  him  with  a  brass  andiron.  To  this  indictment 
she  has  pleaded  "  Not  Guilty/  and  stands  before  her 
God  and  this  community  for  trial.  Gentlemen  of  the 
jury,  you  represent  this  commonwealth,  jealous  of  the 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  257 

inviolability  of  its  laws,  and  by  virtue  of  your  oaths, 
you  are  solemnly  pledged  to  decide  upon  her  guilt  or 
innocence,  in  strict  accordance  with  the  evidence  that 
may  be  laid  before  you.  In  fulfilling  this  sacred  duty, 
you  will,  I  feel  assured,  be  governed  exclusively  by  a 
stern  regard  to  the  demands  of  public  justice.  While 
it  taxes  our  reluctant  credulity  to  believe  that  a  crime 
so  hideous  could  have  been  committed  by  a  woman's 
hand,  could  have  been  perpetrated  without  provo 
cation,  within  the  borders  of  our  peaceful  community, 
nevertheless,  the  evidence  we  shall  adduce  must  inev 
itably  force  you  to  the  melancholy  conclusion  that 
the  prisoner  at  the  bar  is  guilty  of  the  ott'ence,  witL 
which  she  stands  charged.  The  indictment  which  you 
are  about  to  try,  charges  Beryl  Brentano  with  the 
murder. 

"  In  outlining  the  evidence  which  will  be  presented 
in  support  of  this  indictment,  I  earnestly  desire  that 
you  will  give  me  your  dispassionate  and  undivided  at 
tention  ;  and  I  call  God  to  witness,  that  disclaiming  per 
sonal  animosity  and  undue  zeal  for  vengeance,  I  am 
sorrowfully  indicating  as  an  officer  of  the  law,  a  path 
of  inquiry,  that  must  lead  you  to  that  goal  where,  before 
the  altar  of  Truth,  Justice  swings  her  divine  scales, 
and  bids  Nemesis  unsheathe  her  sword. 

"On  the  afternoon  of  October  the  twenty-sixth,  about 
tnree  o'clock,  a  stranger  arrived  in  X and  in 
quired  of  the  station  agent  what  road  would  carry  her 
to  '  Elm  Bluff ',  the  home  of  General  Darrington  ;  as 
suring  him  she  would  return  in  time  to  take  the  north 
bound  train  at  7.15,  as  urgent  business  necessitated  her 
return.  Demanding  an  interview  with  Gen'l  Darring 
ton,  she  was  admitted,  incognito,  and  proclaimed  her 
self  his  granddaughter,  sent  hither  by  a  sick  mother, 
to  procure  a  certain  sum  of  money  required  for  speci- 


258 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


fled  purposes.  That  the  interview  was  stormy,  was 
characterized  by  fierce  invective  on  her  part,  and  by 
bitter  denunciation  and  recrimination  on  his,  is  too 
well  established  to  admit  of  question  ;  and  they  parted 
implacable  foes,  as  is  attested  by  the  fact  that  he  drove 
her  from  his  room  through  a  rear  and  unfrequented  door, 
opening-  into  a  flower  garden,  whence  she  wandered 
over  the  grounds  until  she  found  the  gate.  The  vital 
import  of  this  interview  lies  in  the  great  stress  Gen'l 
Darrington  placed  upon  the  statement  he  iterated  and 
reiterated  ;  that  he  had  disinherited  his  daughter,  and 
drawn  up  a  will  bequeathing  his  entire  estate  to  his 
step-son  Prince. 

"  Miss  Brentano  did  not  leave  X at  7.15,  though 

she  had  ample  time  to  do  so,  after  quitting  '  Elm  Bluff'. 
She  loitered  about  the  station  house  until  nearly  half- 
past  eight,  then  disappeared.  At  10  P.M.  she  was 
seen  and  identified  by  a  person  who  had  met  her  at 
'  Elm  Bluff',  crouching  behind  a  tree  near  the  road  that 
led  to  that  ill-fated  house,  and  when  questioned  regard 
ing  her  presence  there,  gave  unsatisfactory  answers. 
At  half-past  two  o'clock  she  was  next  seen  hastening 
toward  the  station  office,  along  the  line  of  the  railroad, 
from  the  direction  of  the  water  tank,  which  is  situated 
nearly  a  mile  north  of  town.  Meanwhile  an  unusually 
severe  storm  had  been  followed  by  a  drenching  rain, 
and  the  stranger's  garments  were  wet,  when,  after  a 
confused  and  contradictory  account  of  her  movements, 
she  boarded  the  3.05  train  bound  north. 

"  During  that  night,  certainly  after  ten  o'clock,  Gen" 
Darrington  was  murdered.  His  vault  was  forced 
open,  money  was  stolen,  and  most  significant  of  all,  the 
will  was  abstracted.  Criminal  jurisprudence  holds 
that  the  absence  of  motive  renders  nugatory  much 
weighty  testimony.  In  this  melancholy  cause,  could  a 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  259 

more  powerful  motive  "be  imagined  than  that  which 
goaded  the  prisoner  to  dip  her  fair  hands  in  her  grand 
father's  blood,  in  order  to  possess  and  destroy  that  will, 
which  stood  as  an  everlasting  barrier  between  her  and 
the  estate  she  coveted  ? 

"  Crimes  are  referrible  to  two  potent  passions  of  the 
human  soul ;  malice,  engendering  thirst  for  revenge, 
and  the  insatiable  lust  of  money.  If  that  old  man  haxi 
died  a  natural  death,  leaving  the  will  he  had  signed, 
his  property  would  have  belonged  to  the  adopted  son, 
to  whom  he  bequeathed  it,  and  Mrs.  Brentano  and  her 
daughter  would  have  remained  paupers.  Cut  off  by 
assassination,  and  with  no  record  of  his  last  wishes  in 
existence,  the  beloved  son  is  bereft  of  his  legacy,  and 
Beryl  Brentano  and  her  mother  inherit  the  blood- 
bought  riches  they  covet.  When  arrested,  gold 
coins  and  jewels  identified  as  those  formerly  deposited 
in  Gen'l  Darrington's  vault,  were  found  in  possession 
of  the  prisoner  ;  and  as  if  every  emissary  of  fate  were 
armed  with  warrants  for  her  detection,  a  handkerchief 
bearing  her  initials,  and  saturated  with  the  chloroform 
which  she  had  administered  to  her  victim,  was  taken 
from  the  pillow,  where  his  honored  gray  head  rested, 
when  he  slept  his  last  sleep  on  earth.  Further 
analysis  would  insult  your  intelligence,  and  having 
very  briefly  laid  before  you  the  intended  line  of  testi 
mony,  I  believe  I  have  assigned  a  motive  for  this 
monstrous  crime,  which  must  precipitate  the  ven 
geance  of  the  law,  hi  a  degree  commensurate  with  its 
enormity.  Time,  opportunity,  motive,  when  in  full 
accord,  constitute  a  fatal  triad,  and  the  suspicious  and 
unexplainable  conduct  of  the  prisoner  in  various  re 
spects,  furnishes,  in  connection  with  other  circumstances 
of  this  case,  the  strongest  presumptive  evidence  of  her 
guilt.  These  circumstances,  far  beyond  the  realm  of 


2GO  AT  THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

human  volition,  smelted  and  shaped  in  the  rolling  mills 
of  destiny,  form  the  tramway  along  which  already  the 
car  of  doom  thunders;  and  when  they  shall  have  been 
fully  proved  to  you,  by  unassailable  testimony,  no 
alternative  remains  but  the  verdict  of  guilty.  Mourn 
ful  as  is  the  duty,  and  awfully  solemn  the  necessity  that 
leaves  the  issue  of  life  and  death  in  your  hands,  re 
member,  gentlemen,  Curran's  immortal  words  :  '  A 
juror's  oath  is  the  adamantine  chain  that  binds  the  in- 
legrity  of  man  to  the  throne  of  eternal  justice".' 

No  trace  of  emotion  was  visible  on  the  prisoner's 
face,  except  at  the  harsh  mention  of  her  mother's 
name ;  when  a  shudder  was  perceptible,  as  in  one 
where  dentist's  steel  pierces  a  sensitive  nerve.  In  or 
der  to  avoid  the  hundreds  of  eyes  that  stabbed  her 
like  merciless  probes,  her  own  had  been  raised  and 
fixed  upon  a  portion  of  the  cornice  in  the  room  where 
a  family  of  spiders  held  busy  camp  ;  but  a  fascination 
long  resisted,  finally  drew  their  gaze  down  to  a  seat 
near  the  bar,  and  she  encountered  the  steady,  sorrow 
ful  regard  of  Mr.  Dunbar. 

Two  months  had  elapsed  since  the  Christmas  morn 
ing  on  which  she  had  rejected  his  floral  offering,  and 
during  that  weary  season  of  waiting,  she  had  refused 
to  see  any  visitors  except  Dyce  and  Sister  Serena ;  res 
olutely  denying  admittance  to  Miss  Gordon.  She  knew 
that  he  had  been  absent,  had  searched  for  some  testi 
mony  in  New  York,  and  now  meeting  his  eyes,  she  saw 
a  sudden  change  in  their  expression — a  sparkle,  a  smile 
of  encouragement,  a  declaration  of  success.  He  fancied 
he  understood  the  shadow  of  dread  that  drifted  over 
her  face ;  and  she  realized  at  that  instant,  that  of  all 
foes,  she  had  most  to  apprehend  from  the  man  who  she 
knew  loved  her  with  an  unreasoning  and  ineradicable 
fervor.  How  much  had  he  discovered?  She  could 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  261 

defy  the  district  solicitor,  the  judge,  the  jury ;  but 
only  one  method  of  silencing-  the  battery  that  was  am 
bushed  in  those  gleaming  blue  eyes  presented  itself. 
To  extinguish  his  jealousy  by  removing  the  figment  of 
a  rival,  might  rob  him  of  the  motive  that  explained  his 
persistent  pursuit  of  the  clue  she  had  concealed ;  but  it 
would  simultaneously  demolish,  also,  the  barrier  that 
stretched  between  Miss  Gordon's  happy  heart  and  the 
bitter  waves  of  a  cruel  disappointment.  If  assured 
that  her  own  affection  was  unpledged,  would  the  bare 
form  and  ceremonial  of  honor  bind  his  allegiance  to  his 
betrothed  ?  Absorbed  in  these  reflections,  the  pris 
oner  became  temporarily  oblivious  of  the  proceedings  ; 
and  it  was  not  until  Sister  Serena  touched  her  arm, 
that  she  saw  the  vast  throng  was  watching  her,  wait 
ing  for  some  reply.  The  Judge  repeated  his  question  : 

"Is  it  the  desire  of  the  prisoner  to  answer  the  pre 
sentation  of  the  prosecution  ?  Having  refused  profes 
sional  defence,  you  now  have  the  option  of  addressing 
the  Court." 

k<  Let  the  prosecution  proceed." 

There  was  no  quiver  in  her  voice,  as  cold,  sweet  and 
distinct  it  found  its  way  to  the  extremity  of  the  wide 
apartment ;  yet  therein  lurked  no  defiance.  She  re 
sumed  her  seat,  and  her  eyes  sank,  until  the  long  black 
fringes  veiled  their  depths.  Unperceived,  Judge  Dent 
had  found  a  seat  behind  her,  and  leaning  forward 
he  whispered  : 

"  Will  you  permit  me  to  speak  for  you  ?" 

"Thank  you— no." 

"  Bat  it  cuts  me  to  the  heart  to  see  you  so  forsaken, 
so  helpless." 

"  God  is  my  helper  ;  He  will  not  forsake  me." 

The  first  witness  called  and  sworn  was  Doctor  Led- 
yard;  the  Dhysician  who  for  many  years  had  attends* 


262 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


General  Darrington ;  and  who  testified  that  when  sum 
moned  to  examine  the  body  of  deceased,  on  the  morning 
of  the  inquest,  he  had  found  it  so  rigid  that  at  least  eight 
hours  must  have  elapsed  since  life  became  extinct.  Had 
discovered  no  blood  stains,  and  only  two  contusions,  one 
on  the  right  temple,  where  a  circular  black  spot  was 
conspicuous,  and  a  bluish  bruise  over  the  region  of  the 
heart.  He  had  visited  deceased  on  the  morning  of  pre 
vious  day,  and  he  then  appeared  much  better,  and  almost 
relieved  of  rheumatism  and  pains  attributable  to  an  old 
wound  in  the  right  knee.  The  skull  had  not  been  frac 
tured  by  the  blow  on  the  temple,  but  witness  believed 
it  had  caused  death  ;  and  the  andiron,  which  he  identi 
fied  as  the  one  found  on  the  floor  close  to  the  de 
ceased,  was  so  unusually  massive,  he  was  positive 
that  if  hurled  with  any  force,  it  would  produce  a  fatal 
result. 

Mr.  Churchill :  "  Did  you  at  that  examination  detect 
any  traces  of  chloroform  ?" 

"  There  was  an  odor  of  chloroform  very  perceptible 
when  we  lifted  the  hair  to  examine  the  skull ;  and  on 
searching  the  room,  we  found  a  vial  which  had  con 
tained  chloroform,  and  was  beside  the  pillow,  where  a 
portion  had  evidently  leaked  out." 

"  Could  death  have  occurred  in  consequence  of  in 
haling  that  chloroform  ?" 

"  If  so,  the  deceased  could  never  have  risen,  and 
would  have  been  found  in  his  bed  ;  moreover,  the  limbs 
were  drawn  up,  and  bent  into  a  position  totally  incon 
sistent  with  any  theory  of  death  produced  by  anaes 
thetics  ;  and  the  body  was  rigid  as  iron." 

The  foregoing  testimony  was  confirmed  by  that  of 
Doctor  Cranmar,  a  resident  physician,  who  had  been 
summoned  by  the  Coroner  to  assist  Doctor  Ledyard  in 
the  examination,  reported  formally  at  the  inquest. 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF   TIBERIUS.  263 

"  Here,  gentlemen  ofthe  jury,  is  the  fatal  weapon 
with  which  a  woman's  hands,  supernaturally  nerved  in 
the  struggle  for  gain,  struck  down,  destroyed  a  vener 
able  old  man,  an  honored  citizen,  whose  gray  hairs 
should  have  shielded  him  from  the  murderous  assault 
of  a  mercenary  adventuress.  Can  she  behold  without 
a  shudder,  this  tell-tale  instrument  of  her  monstrous 
crime  ?" 

High  above  his  head,  Mr.  Churchill  raised  the  old- 
fashioned  andiron,  and  involuntarily  Beryl  glanced  at 
the  quaint  brass  figure,  cast  in  the  form  of  a  unicorn, 
with  a  heavy  ball  surmounting  the  horn. 
"  Abednego  Darrington !" 

Sullen,  crestfallen  and  woe-begone  was  the  demeanor 
of  the  old  negro,  who  had  been  brought  vi  et  armis  by 
a  constable,  from  the  seclusion  of  a  corner  of  the  "  Bend 
Plantation",  where  he  had  secreted  himself,  to  avoid 
the  shame  of  bearing  testimony  against  his  mistress' 
child.  When  placed  on  the  witness  stand,  he  crossed 
his  arms  over  his  chest,  planted  his  right  foot  firmly  in 
advance,  and  fixed  his  eyes  on  the  leather  strings  that 
tied  his  shoes. 

After  some  unimportant  preliminaries,  the  District 
Solicitor  asked  : 

"  When  did  you  first  see  the  prisoner,  who  now  sits 
before  you  ?" 

"  When  she  come  to  our  house,  the  evening  before  ole 
Marster  died." 

"  You  admitted  her  to  your  Master's  presence?" 

* '  I  never  tuck  no  sech  libberties.  He  tole  me  to  lei 
ter  in." 

"  You  carried  her  to  his  room  ?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"About  what  time  of  the  day  was  it?' 

"Don't  know." 


264  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"  Gen'l  Darrington  always  dined  at  three  o'clock 

Was  it  before  or  after  dinner  ?" 

"After." 

"  How  long- was  the  prisoner  in  the  General's  room?'' 

"Don't  know." 

"  Did  she  leave  the  house  by  the  front  door,  or  the 
side  door?  " 

"  Can't  say.     Didn't  see  her  when  she  come  out." 

"  About  liow  long  was  she  in  the  house  ?" 

"  I  totes  no  watch,  and  I  never  had  no  luck  guess 
ing.  I'm  shore  to  land  wrong." 

"  Was  it  one  hour  or  two  ?" 

"  Mebbe  more,  mebbe  less." 

"  Where  were  you  during  that  visit  ?" 

"  Feedin'  my  game  pullets  in  the  backyard." 

"  Did  you  hear  any  part  of  the  conversation  between 
the  prisoner  and  Gen'l  Darrington?" 

"  No,  sir  1  I'm  above  the  meanness  of  eavesdrap- 
ping." 

"  How  did  you  learn  that  sne  was  the  granddaugh 
ter  of  Gen'l  Darrington  ?" 

{ *  Miss  Angerline,  the  white  'oman  what  mends  and 
sews,  come  to  the  back  piazer,  and  beckoned  me  to  run 
there.  She  said  ther  must  be  a  '  high  ole fracas',  them 
was  her  words,  agoin'  on  in  Marster'sroom,  for  he  was 
cussin'  and  swearin',  and  his  granddaughter  was  jaw 
ing-  back  very  vicious.  Sez  I,  '  Who  '?  Sez  she,  '  His 
granddaughter  ;  that  is  Ellice's  chile'.  Sez  I,  '  How 
do  you  know  so  much  '?  Sez  she,  '  I  was  darning  them 
liberry  curtains,  and  I  couldn't  help  hearing  the 
wrangle'.  Sez  I,  '  You  picked  a  oncommon  handy 
time  to  tackle  them  curtains ;  they  must  be  mighty 
good  to  cure  the  ear-itch'.  She  axed  me  if  I  didn't  see 
the  family  favor  in  the  'oman's  face  ;  and  I  tole  her 
no,  but  I  would  see  for  myself.  Sez  she,  to  me,  '  No 


AT   THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  265 

you  won't,  for  the  Gen'l  is  in  a  tearing  rage,  and  he's 
done  drove  her  out,  and  kicked  and  slammed  the 
doors.  She's  gone.'  3 

"  Then  you  did  not  see  her  ?" 

"  I  went  to  the  front  piazer,  and  I  seen  her  far  down 
the  lawn,  but  Marster  rung  his  bell  so  savage,  I  had  to 
run  back  to  him." 

"Did  he  tell  you  the  prisoner  was  his  grand 
daughter?" 

"No,  sir." 

"  Did  you  mention  the  fact  to  him  ?" 

"  I  wouldn't  'a  dared  to  meddle  with  his  fambly  biz- 
ness  !" 

"  He  appeared  very  angry  and  excited  ?" 

"  He  'peard  to  want  some  ole  Conyyac  what  was  in 
the  sideboard,  and  I  brung  the  bottle  to  him." 

"  Do  you  remember  whether  his  vault  in  the  wall  was 
open,  when  you  answered  the  bell  ?" 

"I  didn't  notice  it." 

"  Where  did  you  sleep  that  night?" 

"  On  a  pallet  in  the  middle  passage,  nigh  the  star 
steps." 

"  Was  that  your  usual  custom  ?" 

"  No,  sir.  But  the  boy  what  had  been  sleepin'  in  the 
house  while  ole  Marster  was  sick,  had  gone  to  set  up 
with  his  daddy's  corpse,  and  I  tuck  his  place." 

"Did  you  hear  any  unusual  noise  during  the 
night?" 

"  Only  the  squalling  of  the  pea-fowul  what  was  on- 
common  oneasy,  and  the  thunder  that  was  ear-splitting. 
One  clap  was  so  tremenjous  it  raised  me  plum  off'en 
the  pallet,  and  jarred  me  to  my  backbone,  as  if  a  can 
non  had  gone  off  close  by." 

"  Now,  Bedney,  state  carefully  all  the  circumstances 
under  which  you  found  your  master  the  next  morning1 ; 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

and  remember  you  are  on  your  oath,  to  speak  the  truth, 
and  all  the  truth." 

"  He  was  a  early  riser,  and  always  wanted  his  shav- 
in'  water  promp'.  When  his  bell  didn't  ring,  I  thought 
the  storm  had  kep'  him  awake,  and  he  was  having  a 
mornin'  nap,  to  make  up  for  lost  time.  The  clock  had 
struck  eight,  and  the  cook  said  as  how  the  steak  and 
chops  was  as  dry  as  a  bone  from  waitin',  and  so  I  gol 
the  water  and  went  to  Marster's  door.  It  was  she! 
tight,  and  I  knocked  easy.  He  never  answered  ;  so  I 
knocked  louder ;  and  thinkin'  somethin'  was  shorely 
wrong,  I  opened  the  door — 

"  Go  on.     What  did  you  find  ?" 

"  Mars  Alfred,  sir,  it's  very  harryfyin  to  my  feelins." 

' '  Go  on.  You  are  required  to  state  all  you  saw,  all 
you  know." 

Bedney  drew  back  his  right  foot,  advanced  his  left. 
Took  out  his  handkerchief,  wiped  his  face  and  refolded 
his  arms. 

"  My  Marster  was  layin'  on  the  rug  before  the  fire 
place,  and  his  knees  was  all  drawed  up.  His  right  arm 
was  stretched  out,  so — and  his  left  hand  was  all  doubled 
up.  I  know'd  he  was  dead,  before  I  tetched  him,  for 
his  face  was  set;  and  pinched  and  blue.  I  reckon  I  hol 
lered,  but  I  can't  say,  for  the  next  thing  I  knowed,  the 
horsier  and  the  cook,  and  Miss  Angerline,  and  Dyce,  my 
ole  'oman,  and  Gord  knows  who  all,  was  streamin'  in 
and  out  and  screamin'." 

"  What  was  the  condition  of  the  room  ?" 

"  The  front  window  was  up,  and  the  blinds  was  flung 
wide  open,  and  a  cheer  was  upside  down  close  to  it. 
The  red  vases  what  stood  on  the  fire-place  mantle  was 
smashed  on  the  carpet,  and  the  handi'on  was  close  to 
Marster's  right  hand.  The  vault  was  open,  and  papers 
was  strowed  plentiful  round  on  the  floor  under  it.  Then 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  267 

fche  neighburs  and  the  Doctor,  and  the  Crowner  come 
runnin'  in,  and  I  sot  down  by  the  bed  and  cried  like  a 
chile.  Pretty  soon  they  turned  us  all  out  and  hilt 
the  inquess." 

"  You  do  not  recollect  any  other  circumstance  ?" 

"The  lamp  on  the  table  was  burnin' — and  ther' 
wan't  much  oil  left  in  it.  I  seen  Miss  Angerline  blow 
it  out,  after  the  Doctor  come." 

"  Who  found  the  chloroform  vial  ?" 

"  Don't  know." 

*  *  Did  you  hear  any  name  mentioned  as  that  of  the 
murderer?" 

"Miss  Angerline  tole  the  Crowner,  that  ef  the 
will  was  missin',  Gen'l  Darrington's  granddaughter 
had  stole  it.  They  two,  with  some  other  gentleman, 
sarched  the  vault,  and  Miss  Angerline  said  everything 
was  higgledy  piggledy  and  no  will  there." 

"  You  testified  before  the  Coroner  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Why  did  you  not  give  him  the  handkerchief  you 
found  ?" 

"  I  didn't  have  it  then." 

"  When  and  where  did  you  get  it?  Be  very  careful 
now." 

For  the  first  time  Bedney  raised  his  eyes  toward 
the  place  where  Dyce  sat  near  the  prisoner,  and  he 
hesitated.  He  took  some  tobacco  from  his  vest  pocket, 
stowed  it  away  in  the  hollow  of  his  cheek,  and  re-cross 
ed  his  arms. 

"  When  Marster  was  dressed,  and  tney  carried  him 
out  to  the  drawing-room,  Dyce  was  standin'  cryin'  by 
the  fireplace,  and  I  went  to  the  bed,  and  put  my  hand 
under  the  bolster,  where  Marster  always  kep'  his 
watch  and  his  pistol.  The  watch  was  ther'  but  no 
pistol ;  and  just  sorter  stuffed  under  the  pillow  case — 


268  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

was  a  hank'cher.  I  tuk  the  watch  straight  to  the 
gentlemen  in  the  drawin'-room,  and  they  come  back  and 
sarched  for  the  pistol,  and  we  f oun'  it  layin'  in  its  case 
in  the  table  draw'.  Of  all  the  nights  in  his  life,  ole 
Marster  had  forgot  to  lay  his  pistol  handy." 

"Never  mind  about  the  pistol.  What  became  of 
the  handkerchief?" 

"When  I  picked  it  up,  an  injun-rubber  stopper 
rolled  out,  and  as  ther'  wan't  no  value  in  a  hank'cher, 
I  saw  no  harm  in  keepin'  it — for  a  'mento  of  ole 
Marster's  death." 

"  You  knew  it  was  a  lady's  handkerchief." 

"  No,  sir !  I  didn't  know  it  then ;  and  what's  more, 
I  don't  know  it  now." 

"  Is  not  this  the  identical  handkerchief  you  found  ?  " 

"  Can't  say.  'Dentical  is  a  ticklish  trap  for  a  pusson 
on  oath.  It  do  look  like  it,  to  be  shore ;  but  two  seed 
in  a  okrey  pod  is  ezactly  alike,  and  one  is  one,  and 
t'other  is  t'other." 

"  Look  at  it.  To  the  best  of  your  knowledge  and  be 
lief  it  is  the  identical  handkerchief  you  found  on  Gen'l 
Darrington's  pillow  ?  " 

"  What  I  found  had  red  specks  sewed  in  the  border, 
and  this  seems  jest  like  it ;  but  I  don't  sware  to  no 
dentical — 'cause  I  means  to  be  kereful;  and  I  will 
stand  to  the  aidge  of  my  oath ;  but — Mars  Alfred — 
don't  shove  me  over  it." 

"Can't  you  read?" 

"No,  sir;  I  never  hankered  after  book-larnin'  tom 
foolery,  and  other  freedom  frauds." 

"  You  know  your  A  B  C's  ?  " 

"  No  more  'n  a  blind  mule." 

As  the  solicitor  took  from  the  table  hi  front  of  the 
jury  box,  the  embroidered  square  of  cambric,  and  held 
it  up  by  two  corners,  every  eye  in  the  court-room  fast- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  269 

ened  upon  it ;  and  a  deadly  faintness  seized  the  prison* 
er,  whitening  lips  that  hitherto  had  kept  their 
scarlet  outlines. 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  if  the  murdered  man  could 
stand  before  you,  for  one  instant  only,  his  frozen  finger 
would  point  to  the  fatal  letters  which  destiny  seems  to 
have  left  as  a  bloody  brand.  Here  in  indelible  colors 
are  wrought  '  B.  B.' ! — Beryl  Brentano.  Do  you  won 
der,  gentlemen,  that  when  this  overwhelming  evidence 
of  her  guilt  came  into  my  possession,  compassion  for  a 
beautiful  woman  was  strangled  by  supreme  horror, 
in  the  contemplation  of  the  depravity  of  a  female  mon 
ster  ?  If  these  crimson  letters  were  gaping  wounds, 
could  their  bloody  lips  more  solemnly  accuse  yonder 
blanched,  shuddering,  conscience-stricken  woman  of  the 
sickening  crime  of  murdering  her  aged,  infirm  grand 
father,  from  whose  veins  she  drew  the  red  tide  that 
now  curdles  at  her  heart?" 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

A  S  the  third  day  of  the  trial  wore  away,  the  dense 
^~*  crowd  in  the  court-room  became  acquainted  with 
the  sensation  of  having  been  unjustly  defrauded  of  the 
customary  public  perquisite  ;  because  the  monotonous 
proceedings  were  entirely  devoid  of  the  spirited  verbal 
duels,  the  microscopic  hair  splitting,  the  biting  sar 
casms  of  opposing  counsel,  the  browbeating  of  wit 
nesses,  the  tenacious  wrangling  over  invisible  legal 
points,  which  usually  vary  and  spice  the  routine  and 
stimulate  the  interest  of  curious  spectators.  When  a 


270  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

spiritless  fox  disdains  to  double,  and  stands  waiting 
for  the  hounds,  who  have  only  to  rend  it,  hunters  feel 
cheated,  and  deem  it  no  chase. 

To  the  impatient  spectators,  it  appeared  a  very  tame, 
one-sided,  and  anomalous  trial,  where  like  a  slow 
stream  the  evidences  of  guilt  oozed,  and  settled  about 
the  prisoner,  who  challenged  the  credibility  of  no  wit 
ness,  and  waived  all  the  privileges  of  cross-examination. 
Now  and  then,  the  audience  criticised  in  whispers  the 
"undue  latitude"  allowed  by  the  Judge,  to  the  Dis 
trict  Solicitor;  but  their  "  exceptions  "  were  informal, 
and  the  prosecution  received  no  serious  or  important 
rebuff. 

Was  the  accused  utterly  callous,  or  paralyzed  by 
consciousness  of  her  crime;  or  biding  her  time  for  a 
dramatic  outburst  of  vindicating  testimony?  To  her 
sensitive  nature,  the  ordeal  of  sitting  day  after  day  to 
be  stared  at  by  a  curious  and  prejudiced  public,  was 
more  torturing  than  the  pangs  of  Marsyas;  and  she 
wondered  whether  a  courageous  Roman  captive  who 
was  shorn  of  his  eyelids,  and  set  under  the  blistering 
sun  of  Africa,  suffered  any  more  keenly ;  but  motion 
less,  apparently  impassive  as  a  stone  mask,  on  whose 
features  pitiless  storms  beat  in  vain,  she  bore  without 
wincing  the  agony  ofher  humiliation.  Very  white  and 
still,  she  sat  hour  by  hour  with  downcast  eyes,  and 
folded  hands;  and  those  who  watched  most  closely 
could  detect  only  one  change  of  position ;  now  and  then 
she  raised  her  clasped  hands,  and  rested  her  lips  a 
moment  on  the  locked  fingers,  then  dropped  them 
wearily  on  her  lap. 

Even  when  a  juryman  asked  two  searching  questions 
of  a  witness,  she  showed  no  sign  of  perturbation,  and 
avoided  meeting  the  eyes  in  the  jury-box,  as  though 
they  belonged  to  basilisks.  Was  it  only  three  days 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  271 

since  the  beginning  of  this  excruciating  martyrdom  of 
soul ;  and  how  much  longer  could  she  endure  silently, 
and  keep  her  reason  ? 

At  times,  Sister  Serena's  hand  forsook  the  knitting, 
to  lay  a  soft,  caressing  touch  of  encouragement  and 
sympathy  on  the  girl's  shoulder ;  and  Dyce's  burning 
indignation  vented  itself  in  frequent  audible  grating  of 
her  strong  white  teeth.  So  passed  Monday,  Tuesday, 
Wednesday,  in  the  examination  of  witnesses  who  re 
capitulated  all  that  had  been  elicited  at  the  preliminary 
investigation ;  and  each  nook  and  cranny  of  recollec 
tion  in  the  mind  of  Anthony  Burk,  the  station  agent ; 
of  Belshazzer  Tatem,  the  lame  gardener ;  of  lean  and 
acrid  Miss  Angeline,  the  seamstress,  was  illuminated 
by  the  lurid  light  of  Mr.  Churchill's  adroit  interroga 
tion.  Thus  far,  the  prosecution  had  been  conducted  by 
the  District  Soliciter,  with  the  occasional  assistance  of 
Mr.  Wolverton,  who,  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  D unbar, 
had  appeared  as  representative  of  the  Darlington 
estate,  and  its  legal  heir,  Prince ;  and  when  court  ad 
journed  on  Wednesday,  the  belief  was  generally  enter 
tained  that  no  defence  was  possible;  and  that  at  the 
last  moment,  the  prisoner  would  confess  her  crime,  and 
appeal  to  the  mercy  of  the  jury.  As  the  deputy 
sheriff  led  his  prisoner  toward  the  rear  entrance,  where 
stood  the  dismal  funereal  black  wagon  in  which  she  was 
brought  from  prison  to  court,  Judge  Dent  came  quickly 
to  meet  her. 

"  My  niece,  Miss  Gordon,  could  not,  of  course,  come 
into  the  court-room,  but  she  is  here  in  the  library,  with 
her  aunt,  and  desires  to  see  you  for  a  moment?" 

'  *  Tell  her  I  am  grateful  for  her  kind  motives,  but  I 
wish  to  see  no  one  now." 

"  For  your  own  sake,  consider  the —  ah  !  here  is  my 
niece." 


272 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


"I  hope  you  need  no  verbal  assurance  of  my  deep 
sympathy,  and  my  constant  prayers,"  said  Leo,  tak 
ing1  one  passive  hand  between  hers,  and  pressing:  it 
warmly 

"  Miss  Gordon,  I  am  comforted  by  your  compassion, 
and  by  your  unwavering  confidence  in  a  strangei 
whom  your  townsmen  hold  up  as  a  '  female  monster'. 
Because  I  so  profoundly  realize  how  good  you  are,  1 
am  unwilling  that  you  should  identify  yourself  with  my 
hopeless  cause.  My  sufferings  will  soon  be  over,  and 
then  I  want  no  shadowy  retiex  cast  upon  the  smiling 
blue  sky  of  your  future.  I  have  nothing  more  to  lose, 
save  the  burden  of  a  life — that  I  shall  be  glad  to  lay 
down;  but  you —  !  Be  careful,  do  not  jeopardize  youi 
beautiful  dream  of  happiness." 

"  Why  do  you  persist  in  rejecting  the  overtures  oi 
those  who  could  assist,  who  might  successfully  defend 
you  ?  I  beg  of  you,  consent  to  receive  and  confer  with 
counsel,  even  to-night." 

"  You  will  never  understand  why  I  must  not,  till  the 
earth  gives  up  her  dead.  You  tremble,  because  only 
one  more  link  can  be  added  to  the  chain  that  is  coiling 
about  my  neck,  and  that  link  is  the  testimony  of  the  man 
whose  name  you  expect  to  bear.  Miss  Gordon  " — she 
stooped  closer,  and  whispered  slowly:  "Do  not  up 
braid  your  lover ;  be  tender,  cling  to  him  ;  and  a  Iford 
me  the  consolation  of  knowing  that  the  unfortunate 
woman  you  befriended,  and  trusted,  cast  not  even  a 
fleeting  shadow  between  your  heart  and  his.  Pray 
for  me,  that  I  may  be  patient  and  strong.  God  bless 
you." 

Turning  swiftly,  she  hurried  on  to  the  officer,  who 
had  courteously  withdrawn  a  few  yards  distant.  As 
he  opened  the  door  of  the  wagon,  he  handed  her  a 
loosely  folded  sheet  of  paper. 


AT  THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  273 

' '  I  promised  to  deliver  your  answer  as  soon  as  pos 
sible." 

By  aid  of  the  red  glow,  burning  low  in  the  western 
sky,  she  read : 

"  Mr.  Dunbar  requests  that  for  her  own  sake,  Miss 
Brentano  will  grant  him  an  interview  this  evening." 

"  My  answer  must  necessarily  be  verbal.  Say  that  T 
will  see  no  one." 

To  the  solitude  and  darkness  of  prison  she  fled  for 
relief,  as  into  some  merciful  sheltering  arms ;  and  not 
even  the  loving  solicitude  of  Mrs.  Singleton  was  per 
mitted  to  penetrate  her  seclusion,  or  share  her  dreary 
vigil.  Another  sleepless  night  dragged  its  leaden 
hours  to  meet  the  dawn,  bringing  no  rest  to  the  des 
olate  soul,  who  silently  grappled  with  fate,  while  every 
womanly  instinct  shuddered  at  the  loathsome  degrada 
tion  forced  upon  her.  Face  downward  on  her  hard,  nar 
row  cot,  she  recalled  the  terrible  accusations,  the  oppro 
brious  epithets,  and  tearless,  convulsive  sobs  of  passion 
ate  protest  shook  her  from  head  to  foot. 

Tortured  with  indignation  and  shame,  at  the  insults 
heaped  upon  her,  yet  sternly  resolved  to  endure  silently, 
these  nights  were  veritable  stations  along  her  Via 
Dolor osa ;  and  fortified  her  for  the  daily  flagellation 
in  front  of  the  jury-box. 

On  Thursday  a  slow,  sleeting  ram  enveloped  the  world 
in  a  gray  cowl,  bristling  with  ice  needles ;  yet  when 
Judge  Parkman  took  his  seat  at  nine  o'clock,  there  was 
*  perceptible  increase  in  the  living  mass,  packed  in 
every  available  inch  of  space. 

For  the  first  time,  Mr.  Dunbar 's  seat  between  his 
colleagues  was  vacant ;  and  Mr.  Churchill  and  Mr. 
Wolverton  were  conversing  in  an  animated  whisper. 


274:  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

Clad  in  mourning-  garments,  and  with  a  long  crape 
veil  put  back  from  her  face,  the  prisoner  was  escorted 
to  her  accustomed  place;  and  braced  by  a  supreme 
effort  for  the  critical  hour,  which  she  felt  assured  was 
at  hand,  her  pale  set  features  gleamed  like  those  of  a 
marble  statue  shrouded  in  black. 

Called  to  the  stand,  Simon  Frisby  testified  that  ' '  he 
was  telegraph  operator,  and  night  train  despatcher  for 

railway  in  X .  On  October  the  twenty-sixth,  had 

just  g-one  on  duty  at  8  P.M.  at  the  station,  when  prisoner 
came  in,  and  sent  a  telegram  to  New  York.  A  copy 
of  that  message  had  been  surrendered  to  the  District 
Solicitor.  Witness  had  remained  all  night  in  his  office, 
which  adjoined  the  ladies'  waiting-room,  and  his  atten 
tion  having  been  attracted  by  the  unusual  fact  that  it 
was  left  open  and  lighted,  he  had  twice  gone  to  the 
door  and  looked  in,  but  saw  no  one.  Thought  the  last 
inspection  was  about  two  o'clock,  immediately  after  he 
had  sent  a  message  to  the  conductor  on  Train  No.  4.  Saw 
prisoner  when  she  came  in,  a  half  hour  later,  and  heard 
the  conversation  betweeen  her  and  Burk,  the  station 
agent.  Was  very  positive  prisoner  could  not  have 
been  in  the  ladies'  waiting'-room  during  the  severe 
storm." 

Mr.  Churchill  read  aloud  the  telegram  addressed  to 
Mrs.  Ignace  Brentano :  "  Complete  success  required 
delay.  All  will  be  satisfactory.  Expect  me  Satur 
day.  B.  B." 

He  commented  on  its  ambiguous  phraseology,  sent 
the  message  to  the  jury  for  inspection,  and  resumed 
his  chair. 

"  Lennox  Dunbar." 

Sister  Serena's  knitting  fell  from  her  fing'ers ;  Dyce 
groaned  audibly,  and  Judge  Dent,  sitting  quite  near, 
uttered  a  heavy  sigh.  The  statue  throbbed  into  life, 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS  275 

drew  herself  proudly  up  ;  and  with  a  haughty  poise  of 
the  head,  her  grand  eloquent  gray  eyes  looked  up  at 
the  witness,  and  for  the  first  time  during  the  trial  bore 
a  challenge.  For  fully  a  moment,  eye  met  eye,  soul 
looked  into  soul,  with  only  a  few  feet  of  space  dividing 
prisoner  from  witness ;  and  as  the  girl  scanned  the 
dark,  resolute,  sternly  chiselled  face,  cold,  yet  hand 
some  as  some  faultless  bronze  god,  a  singular  smile 
unbent  her  frozen  lips,  and  Judge  Dent  and  Sister 
Serena  wondered  what  the  scarcely  audible  ejaculation 
meant : 

"  At  the  mercy  of  Tiberius  !" 

No  faintest  reflection  of  the  fierce  pain  at  his  heart 
could  have  been  discerned  on  that  non-committal  coun 
tenance  ;  and  as  he  turned  to  the  jury,  his  swart  mag 
netic  face  appeared  cruelly  hard,  sinister. 

"I  first  saw  the  prisoner  at  'Elm  Bluff',  on  the 
afternoon  previous  to  Gen'l  Darrington's  death. 
When  I  came  out  of  the  house,  she  was  sitting  bare 
headed  on  the  front  steps,  fanning  herself  with  her  hat, 
and  while  I  was  untying  my  horse,  she  followed  Bedney 
into  the  library.  The  blinds  were  open  and  I  saw  her 
pass  the  window,  walking  in  the  direction  of  the  bed 
room." 

Mr.  Churchill :  "At  that  time  did  you  suspect  her 
relationship  to  your  client,  Gen'l  Darrington?" 

"I  did  not." 

"  What  was  the  impression  left  upon  your  mind  ?" 

"  That  she  was  a  distinguished  stranger,  upon  some 
important  errand." 

" She  excited  your  suspicions  at  once?" 

"  Nothing  had  occurred  to  justify  suspicion.  My  cu 
riosity  was  aroused.  Several  hours  later  I  was  again 
at  'Elm  Bluff'  on  legal  business,  and  found  Gen'l 
Darrington  much  disturbed  in  consequence  of  an  in- 


276 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 


terview  with  the  prisoner,  who,  he  informed  me,  was 
the  child  of  his  daughter,  whom  he  had  many  years 
previous  disowned  and  disinherited.  In  referring-  to 
this  interview,  his  words  were :  '  I  was  harsh  to  the 
girl,  so  harsh  that  she  turned  upon  me,  savage  as  a 
strong  cub  defending  a  crippled,  helpless  dam.  Mother 
and  daughter  know  now  that  the  last  card  has  been 
played ;  for  I  gave  the  girl  distinctly  to  understand, 
that  at  my  death  Prince  would  inherit  every  iota  of  my 
estate,  and  that  my  will  had  been  carefully  written  in 
order  to  cut  them  off  without  a  cent.' ' 

"  You  were  led  to  infer  that  Gen'l  Darrington  had 
refused  her  application  for  money  ?' 

"  There  was  no  mention  of  an  application  for  money, 
hence  I  inferred  nothing." 

"  During  that  conversation,  the  last  which  Gen'l  Dar 
rington  held  on  earth,  did  he  not  tell  you  he  was  op 
pressed  by  an  awful  presentiment  connected  with  his 
granddaughter  ?" 

"  His  words  were :  '  Somehow  I  am  unable  to  get  rid 
of  the  strange,  disagreeable  presentiment  that  girl  left 
behind  her  as  a  farewell  legacy.  She  stood  there  at 
the  glass  door,  and  raised  her  hand  :  *  Gen'l  Darring 
ton,  when  you  lie  down  to  die,  may  God  have  more 
mercy  on  your  poor  soul,  than  you  have  shown  to 
your  suffering  child.' 

"  I  advised  him  to  sleep  off  the  disagreeable  train  of 
thought,  and  as  I  bade  him  good  night,  his  last  words 
were: 

" '  I  shall  write  to  Prince  to  come  home.' ' 

"  What  do  you  know  concerning  the  contents  of 
your  client's  will?" 

"  The  original  will  was  drawn  up  by  my  father  in 
187-,  but  last  May,  Gen'l  Darrington  required  me 
to  re- write  it,  as  he  wished  to  increase  the  amount  of 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  277 

a  Request  to  a  certain  charitable  institution.  The  pro 
visions  of  the  will  were,  that  with  the  exception  of  va 
rious  specified  legacies,  his  entire  estate,  real  and  per 
sonal,  should  be  given  to  his  step-son  Prince ;  and  it 
was  carefully  worded,  with  the  avowed  intention  of  bar 
ring  all  claims  that  might  be  presented  by  Ellice  Bren- 
tano  or  her  heirs." 

"  Do  you  recollect  any  allusion  to  jewelry  ?" 

"  One  clause  of  the  will  set  aside  a  case  of  sapphire 
stones,  with  the  direction  that  whenever  Prince  Dar- 
rington  married,  they  should  be  worn  by  the  lady  as  a 
bridal  present  from  him." 

"  Would  you  not  deem  it  highly  incompatible  with 
all  you  know  of  the  Gen'l's  relentless  character,  that 
said  sapphires  and  money  should  have  been  given  to 
the  prisoner  ?" 

"  My  surmises  would  be  irrelevant  and  valueless  to 
the  Court ;  and  facts,  indisputable  facts,  are  all  that 
should  be  required  of  witnesses." 

"  When  and  where  did  you  next,  see  the  prisoner  ?" 

Cold,  crisp,  carefully  accentuated,  his  words  fell  like 
lead  upon  the  ears  of  all  present,  whose  sympa 
thies  were  enlisted  for  the  desolate  woman;  and 
as  he  stood,  tall,  graceful,  with  one  hand  thrust  within 
his  vest,  the  other  resting  easily  on  the  back  of  the 
bench  near  him,  his  clear  cut  face  so  suggestive  of 
metallic  medallions,  gave  no  more  hint  of  the  smoul 
dering  flame  at  his  heart  than  the  glittering  ice  crown 
of  Eiriksjokull  betrays  the  fierce  lava  tides  beating 
beneath  its  frozen  crust. 

"At  10  o'clock  on  the  same  night,  I  saw  the  pris 
oner  on  the  road  leading  from  town  to  *  Elm  Bluff',  and 
not  farther  than  half  a  mile  from  the  cedar  bridge 
spanning  the  '  branch',  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  where  the 
iron  gate  stands." 


278 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 


"  She  was  then  going  in  the  direction  of  '  Elm 
Bluff?'" 

"  She  was  sitting  on  the  ground,  with  her  head  lean 
ing  against  a  pine  tree,  but  she  rose  as  I  ap 
proached." 

"  As  it  was  at  night,  is  there  a  possibility  of  your 
having  mistaken  some  one  else  for  the  prisoner  ?" 

"  None  whatever.  She  wore  no  hat,  and  the  moon 
shone  full  on  her  face." 

"  Did  you  not  question  her  about  her  presence  there, 
at  such  an  hour?" 

"I  asked:  'Madam,  you  seem  a  stranger;  havo 
you  lost  your  way?'  She  answered,  'No,  sir.'  I 
added:  'Pardon  me, but  having  seen  you  at "  Elm  Bluff  " 
this  afternoon,  I  thought  it  possible  you  had  missed 
the  road.'  She  made  no  reply,  and  I  rode  on  to  town." 

"  She  betrayed  so  much  trepidation  and  embarrass 
ment,  that  your  suspicion  was  at  once  aroused  ?" 

"  She  evinced  neither  trepidation  nor  embarrassment. 
Her  manner  was  haughty  and  repellent,  as  though  de 
signed  to  rebuke  impertinence.  Next  morning,  when 
informed  of  the  peculiar  circumstances  attending 
Gen'l  Darrington's  death,  I  felt  it  incumbent  upon  me 
to  communicate  to  the  magistrate  the  facts  which  I 
have  just  narrated." 

"  An  overwhelming  conviction  of  the  prisoner's  guilt 
impelled  you  to  demand  her  arrest  ?" 

"  Overwhelming  conviction  rarely  results  from 
merely  circumstantial  evidence,  but  a  combination  of 
accusing  circumstances  certainly  pointed  to  the  pris 
oner  ;  and  following  their  guidance,  I  am  responsible 
for  her  arrest  and  detention  for  trial.  To  the  scrutiny 
of  the  Court  I  have  submitted  every  fact  that  influ 
enced  my  action,  and  the  estimate  of  their  value  de 
cided  by  the  jurymen,  must  either  confirm  the  cogency 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  279 

of  my  reasoning-,  or  condemn  my  rash  fallibility.  Hav 
ing-  under  oath  conscientiously  given  all  the  evidence 
in  my  possession,  that  the  prosecution  would  accept  or 
desire,  I  now  respectfully  request,  that  unless  the  pris 
oner  chooses  to  exercise  her  right  of  cross-examination, 
my  colleagues  of  the  prosecution,  and  his  Honor,  will 
grant  me  a  final  discharge  as  witness." 

Turning  toward  Beryl,  Judge  Parkman  said  : 

"  It  is  my  duty  again  to  remind  you,  that  the  cross- 
examination  of  witnesses  is  one"  of  the  most  important 
methods  of  defence ;  as  thereby  inaccuracies  of  state 
ment  regarding-  time,  place,  etc.,  are  often  detected  in 
criminal  prosecutions,  which  otherwise  might  remain 
undiscovered.  To  this  invaluable  privilege  of  every 
defendant,  I  call  your  attention  once  more.  Will  you 
cross-question  the  witness  on  the  stand  ?" 

Involuntarily  her  eyes  sought  those  of  the  witness, 
and  despite  his  locked  and  g-uarded  face,  she  read  there 
an  intimation  that  vaguely  disquieted  her.  She 
knew  that  the  battle  with  him  must  yet  be  fought. 

"  I  waive  the  right." 

"  Then,  with  the  consent  of  the  prosecuting  counsel, 
witness  is  discharged,  subject  to  recall  should  the 
necessities  of  rebuttal  demand  it." 

"  By  agreement  with  my  colleagues,  I  ask  for  final 
discharge,  subject  to  your  Honor's  approval." 

"  If  in  accordance  with  their  wishes,  the  request  is 
granted." 

The  clock  on  the  turret  struck  one,  the  hour  of 
adjournment,  and  ere  recess  was  declared,  Mr.  Church 
ill  rose. 

"  Having  now  proved  by  trustworthy  and  unques 
tioned  witnesses,  a  dark  array  of  facts,  which  no 
amount  of  additional  testimony  could  either  strengthen, 


280  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

or  controvert,  the  prosecution  here  rest  their  case  be 
fore  the  jury  for  inspection;  and  feeling-  assured  that 
only  one  conclusion  can  result,  will  call  no  other  wit 
ness,  unless  required  in  rebuttal." 

Desiring-  to  be  alone,  Beryl  had  shut  out  even  Sister 
Serena,  and  as  the  officer  locked  her  into  a  dark  ante 
chamber,  adjoining  the  court-room,  she  began  to  pace 
the  floor.  One  tall,  narrow  window,  dim  with  inside 
dust,  showed  her  through  filmy  cobwebs  the  gray  veil  of 
rain  falling  ceaselessly  outside,  darkening  the  day  that 
seemed  a  fit  type  of  her  sombre-hued  life,  drawing  swift 
ly  to  its  close,  with  no  hope  of  rift  in  the  clouds,  no  possi 
bility  of  sunset  glow  even  to  stain  its  grave.  Oh  !  to  be 
hidden  safely  in  mother  earth — away  from  the  gaping 
crowd  that  thirsted  for  her  blood  ! — at  rest  in  dark 
ness  and  in  silence  ;  with  the  maddening  stings  of  out 
raged  innocence  and  womanly  delicacy  stilled  forever. 
Oh !  the  coveted  peace  of  lying  under  the  sod,  with 
only  nodding  daisies,  whispering  grasses,  crystal  chimes 
of  vernal  rain,  solemn  fugue  of  wintry  winds  between 
her  tired,  aching  eyes  and  the  fair,  eternal  heavens  ! 
Harrowing  days  and  sleepless,  horror-haunted  nights, 
invincible  sappers  and  miners,  had  robbed  her  of 
strength;  and  the  uncontrollable  shivering  that  now 
and  then  seized  her,  warned  her  that  her  nerves  were 
in  revolt  against  the  unnatural  strain.  The  end  was 
not  far  distant,  she  must  endure  a  little  longer ;  but 
that  last  battle  with  Mr.  Dunbar  ?  On  what  ground, 
with  what  weapons  would  he  force  her  to  fight? 
Kneeling  in  front  of  a  wooden  bench  that  lined  one 
side  of  the  room,  she  laid  her  head  on  the  seat,  cov 
ered  her  face  with  her  hands,  and  prayed  for  guidance, 
for  divine  help  in  her  hour  of  supreme  desolation. 

"  God  of  the  helpless,  succor  me  in  my  need.  For 
bid  that  through  weakness  the  sacrifice  should  be  in- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  281 

complete.  Lead,  sustain,  fortify  me  with  patience, 
that  I  may  ransom  the  soul  I  have  promised  to  save." 

After  a  time,  when  she  resumed  her  walk,  a  strange 
expedient  presented  itself.  If  she  sent  for  Mr.  Dunbar, 
exacted  an  oath  of  secrecy,  and  confided  the  truth  to 
his  keeping,  would  it  avail  to  protect  her  secret; 
would  it  silence  him  ?  Could  she  stoop  so  low  as  to 
throw  herself  upon  his  mercy  ?  Therein  lay  the  nause 
ous  lees  of  her  cup  of  humiliation ;  yet  if  she  drained 
this  last  black  drop,  would  any  pledge  have  power  to 
seal  his  lips,  when  he  saw  that  she  must  die  ? 

The  deputy  sheriff  unlocked  the  door,  and  she  me 
chanically  followed  him. 

"  I  wish  you  would  drink  this  glass  of  wine.  You 
look  so  exhausted,  and  the  air  in  yonder  is  so  close,  it 
is  enough  to  stifle  a  mole.  This  will  help  to  brace  you 
up." 

"  Thank  you  very  much,  but  I  could  not  take  it.  I 
can  bear  my  wrongs  even  to  the  end,  and  that  must  be 
very  near." 

As  he  ushered  her  into  the  court-room,  Judge  Dent 
met  her,  took  her  hand,  and  led  her  to  the  seat  where 
Dyce  and  Sister  Serena  awaited  her  return. 

"My  poor  child,  be  courageous  now  ;  and  remember 
that  you  have  some  friends  here,  who  are  praying  God 
to  help  and  deliver  you." 

"  Did  He  deliver  His  own  Son  from  the  pangs  of 
death  ?  Pray,  that  I  may  be  patient  to  endure." 

One  swift  glance  showed  her  that  Mr.  Dunbar,  for 
saking  his  former  place  beside  the  district  attorney, 
was  sitting  very  near,  just  in  front  of  her.  The  jury 
men  filed  slowly  into  their  accustomed  seats,  and  the 
judge,  who  bad  been  resting  his  head  on  his  hand, 
straightened  himself,  and  put  aside  a  book.  There 
was  an  ominous  hush  pervading  the  dense  crowd,  and 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

in  that  moment  of  silent  expectancy,  Beryl  shut  her 
eyes  and  communed  with  her  God.  Some  mystical 
exaltation  of  soul  removed  her  from  the  realm  of  nerv 
ous  dread ;  and  a  peace,  that  this  world  neither  gives 
nor  takes  away,  settled  upon  her.  Sister  Serena 
untied  and  took  off  the  crape  veil  and  bonnet,  and  as 
she  resumed  her  seat,  Judge  Parkman  turned  to  the 
prisoner. 

"  In  assuming  the  responsibility  of  your  own  defence 
you  have  adopted  a  line  of  policy  which,  however  satis 
factory  to  yourself,  must,  in  the  opinion  of  the  public, 
have  a  tendency  to  invest  your  cause  with  peculiar 
peril ;  therefore  I  impress  upon  you  the  fact,  that  while 
the  law  holds  you  innocent,  until  twelve  men  agree 
that  the  evidence  proves  you  guilty,  the  time  has  ar 
rived  when  your  cause  depends  upon  your  power  to 
refute  the  charges,  and  disprove  the  alleged  facts  ar 
rayed  against  you.  The  discovery  and  elucidation  of 
Truth,  is  the  supreme  aim  of  a  court  of  justice,  and 
to  its  faithful  ministers  the  defence  of  innocence  is 
even  more  imperative  than  the  conviction  of  guilt.  The 
law  is  a  Gibraltar,  fortified  and  armed  by  the  consum 
mate  wisdom  of  successive  civilizations,  as  an  impreg 
nable  refuge  for  innocence ;  and  here,  within  its  pro 
tecting  bulwarks,  as  in  the  house  of  a  friend,  you  are 
called  on  to  plead  your  defence.  You  have  heard  the 
charges  of  the  prosecution ;  listened  to  the  testimony 
of  the  witnesses ;  and  having  taken  your  cause  into 
your  own  hands,  you  must  now  stand  up  and  defend  it." 

She  rose  and  walked  a  few  steps  closer  to  the  jury, 
and  for  the  first  time  during  the  trial,  looked  at  them 
steadily.  White  as  a  status  of  Purity,  she  stood 
for  a  moment,  with  her  wealth  of  shining  auburn  hair 
coiled  low  on  her  shapely  head,  and  waving  in  soft 
outlines  around  her  broad  full  brow.  Unnaturally  calm, 


AT  THE   MERCY   OF   TIBERIUS.  283 

and  wonderfully  beautiful  in  that  sublime  surrender, 
which  like  a  halo  illumines  the  myth  of  Antigone,  it 
was  not  strange  that  every  heart  thrilled,  wh^n  upon 
the  strained  ears  of  the  multitude  fell  the  clear,  sweet, 
indescribably  mournful  voice. 

"  When  a  magnolia  blossom  or  a  white  camellia  just 
fully  open,  is  snatched  by  violent  hands,  bruised,  crush 
ed,  blackened,  scarred  by  rents,  is  it  worth  keeping  ? 
No  power  can  undo  the  ruin,  and  since  all  that  made 
it  lovely — its  stainless  purity — is  irrevocably  destroyed, 
why  preserve  it?  Such  a  pitiable  wreck  you  have 
made  of  the  young  life  I  am  bidden  to  stand  up  and 
defend.  Have  you  left  me  anything  to  live  for? 
Dragged  by  constables  before  prejudiced  strangers, 
accused  of  awful  crimes,  denounced  as  a  female  mon 
ster,  herded  with  convicts,  can  you  imagine  any  reason 
why  I  should  struggle  to  prolong  a  disgraced,  hopelessly 
ruined  existence  ?  My  shrivelled,  mutilated  life  is  in 
your  hands,  and  if  you  decide  to  crush  it  quickly,  you 
will  save  me  much  suffering  ;  as  when  having,  perhaps 
unintentionally,  mangled  some  harmless  insect,  you 
mercifully  turn  back,  grind  it  under  your  heel,  and 
end  its  torture.  My  life  is  too  wretched  now  to  induce 
me  to  defend  it,  but  there  is  something  I  hold  far  dear 
er,  my  reputation  as  an  honorable  Christian  woman ; 
something  I  deem  most  sacred  of  all — the  unsullied 
purity  of  the  name  my  father  and  mother  bore.  Be 
cause  I  am  innocent  of  every  charge  made  against  me, 
I  owe  it  to  my  dead,  to  lift  their  honored  name  out  of 
the  mire.  I  have  pondered  the  testimony ;  and  the 
awful  mass  of  circumstances  that  have  combined  to 
accuse  me,  seems  indeed  so  overwhelming,  that  as  each 
witness  came  forward,  I  have  asked  myself,  am  I  the 
victim  of  some  baleful  destiny,  placed  in  the  grooves  of 
destroying  fate — foreordained  from  the  foundations  of 


284  AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

the  world  to  bear  the  burden  of  another's  guilt  ?  You 
have  been  told  that  I  killed  Gen'l  Darrington,  and 
stole  his  money  and  jewels,  and  destroyed  his  will,  in 
order  to  possess  his  estate.  Trustworthy  witnesses 
have  sworn  to  facts,  which  I  cannot  deny,  and  you  be 
lieve  these  facts ;  and  yet,  while  the  snare  tightens 
around  my  feet,  and  I  believe  you  intend  to  condemn 
me,  I  stand  here,  and  look  you  in  the  face — as  one  day 
we  thirteen  will  surely  stand  at  the  final  judg 
ment — and  in  the  name  of  the  God  I  love,  and  fear, 
and  trust,  I  call  you  each  to  witness,  that  I  am  inno 
cent  of  every  charge  in  the  indictment.  My  hands  are 
as  unstained,  my  soul  is  as  unsullied  by  theft  or  blood 
shed,  as  your  sinless  babes  cooing  in  their  cradles. 

"  If  you  can  clear  your  minds  of  the  foul  tenants 
thrust  into  them,  try  for  a  little  while  to  forget  all 
the  monstrous  crimes  you  have  heard  ascribed  to  me, 
and  as  you  love  your  mothers,  wives,  daughters,  go 
back  with  me,  leaving  prejudice  behind,  and  listen  dis 
passionately  to  my  most  melancholy  story.  The  river 
of  death  rolls  so  close  to  my  weary  feet,  that  I  speak  as 
one  on  the  brink  of  eternity ;  and  as  I  hope  to  meet 
my  God  in  peace,  I  shall  tell  you  the  truth.  Sometimes 
it  almost  shakes  our  faith  in  God's  justice,  when  we 
suffer  terrible  consequences,  solely  because  we  did  our 
duty ;  and  it  seems  to  me  bitterly  hard,  inscrutable, 
that  all  my  misfortunes  should  have  come  upon  me 
thick  and  fast,  simply  because  I  obeyed  my  mother. 
You,  fathers,  say  to  your  children/  Do  this  for  my  sake,' 
and  lovingly  they  spring  to  accomplish  your  wishes ; 
and  when  they  are  devoured  by  agony,  and  smothered 
by  disgrace,  can  you  sufficiently  pity  them,  blind 
artificers  of  their  own  ruin  ? 

"Four  months  ago  I  was  a  very  poor  girl,  but 
proud  and  happy,  because  by  my  own  work  I  could 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF   TIBERIUS.  285 

support  my  mother  and  myself.  Her  health  failed 
rapidly,  and  life  hung  upon  an  operation  and  certain 
careful  subsequent  treatment,  which  it  required  one 
hundred  dollars  to  secure.  I  was  competing"  for  a 
prize  that  would  lift  us  above  want,  but  time  pressed; 
the  doctor  urged  prompt  action,  and  my  mother  de 
sired  me  to  come  South,  see  her  father,  deliver  a  let 
ter  and  beg  for  assistance.  As  long  as  possible,  I  re 
sisted  her  entreaties,  because  I  shrank  from  the  deg 
radation  of  coming  as  a  beggar  to  the  man  who,  I 
knew,  had  disinherited  and  disowned  his  daughter. 

"  Finally,  strangling  my  rebellious  reluctance,  I  ac 
cepted  the  bitter  task.  My  mother  kissed  me  good-bye, 
laid  her  hands  on  my  head  and  blessed  me  for  acced 
ing  to  her  wishes ;  and  so — following  the  finger  of 
Duty — I  came  here  to  be  trampled,  mangled,  destroyed. 
When  I  arrived,  I  found  I  could  catch  a  train  going 
north  at  7.15,  and  I  bought  a  return  ticket,  and  told 
the  agent  I  intended  to  take  that  train.  I  walked  to 
'  Elm  Bluff,'  and  after  waiting  a  few  moments  was  ad 
mitted  to  Gen'l  Darrington's  presence.  The  letter 
which  I  delivered  was  an  appeal  for  one  hundred  dollars, 
and  it  was  received  with  an  outburst  of  wrath,  a  flood 
of  fierce  and  bitter  denunciation  of  my  parents.  The 
interview  was  indescribably  painful,  but  toward  its 
close,  Gen'l  Darrington  relented.  He  opened  his  safe 
or  vault,  and  took  out  a  square  tin  box.  Placing  it  on 
the  table,  he  removed  some  papers,  and  counted  down 
into  my  hand,  five  gold  coins — twenty  dollars  each. 
When  I  turned  to  leave  him,  he  called  me  back,  gave 
me  the  morocco  case,  and  stated  that  the  sapphires 
were  very  costly,  and  could  be  sold  for  a  large  amount. 
He  added,  with  great  bitterness,  that  he  gave  them, 
simply  because  they  were  painful  souvenirs  of  a  past, 
which  he  was  trying  to  forget ;  and  that  he  had  intended 


286  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

them  as  a  bridal  gift  to  his  son  Prince's  wife;  but  a>s 
they  had  been  bought  by  my  mother's  mother  as  a 
present  for  her  only  child,  he  would  send  them  to  their 
original  destination,  for  the  sake  of  his  first  wife,  Helena. 

"  I  left  the  room  by  the  veranda  door,  because  he 
bade  me  do  so,  to  avoid  what  he  termed  e  the  prying  of 
servants.'  I  broke  some  clusters  of  chrysanthemums 
blooming'  in  the  rose  garden,  to  carry  to  my  mother, 
and  then  I  hurried  away.  If  the  wages  of  disobedience 
be  death,  then  fate  reversed  the  mandate,  and  obedi 
ence  exacts  my  life  as  a  forfeit.  Think  of  it :  I  had 
ample  time  to  reach  the  station  before  seven  o'clock, 
and  if  I  had  gone  straight  on,  all  would  have  been  well. 
I  should  have  taken  the  7.15  train,  and  left  forever  this 
horrible  place.  If  I  had  not  loitered,  I  should  have 
seen  once  more  my  mother's  face,  have  escaped  shame, 
despair,  rum — oh !  the  blessedness  of  what  'might  have 
been !' 

"  Listen,  my  twelve  judges,  and  pity  the  child  who 
obeyed  at  all  hazards.  Poor  though  I  was,  I  bought  a 
small  bouquet  for  my  sick  mother  the  day  that  I  left  her, 
and  the  last  thing  she  did  was  to  arrange  the  flowers, 
tie  them  with  a  wisp  of  faded  blue  ribbon,  and  putting 
them  in  my  hand,  she  desired  me  to  be  sure  to  stop  at 
the  cemetery,  find  her  mother's  grave  in  the  Darring- 
ton  lot,  and  lay  the  bunch  of  blossoms  for  her  upon 
her  mother's  monument.  Mother's  last  words  were  : 
'  Don't  forget  to  kneel  down  and  pray  for  me,  at  moth 
er's  grave.' ' 

The  voice  so  clear,  so  steady  hitherto,  quivered,  ceased; 
and  the  heavy  lashes  drooped  to  hide  the  tears  that 
gathered;  but  it  was  only  for  a  few  seconds,  and  she 
resumed  in  the  same  cold,  distinct  tone 

' '  So  I  went  on,  and  fate  tied  the  last  millstone 
around  my  neck.  After  some  search  I  found  the  place, 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  287 

and  left  the  bunch  of  flowers  with  a  few  of  the 
chrysanthemums  ;  then  I  hastened  toward  town,  and 
reached  the  station  too  late ;  the  7.15  train  had  gone. 
Too  late  ! — only  a  half  hour  lost,  but  it  carried  down 
everything  that  this  world  held  for  me.  I  used  to 
wonder  and  puzzle  over  that  passage  in  the  Bible, 
'  The  stars  in  their  courses  fought  against  Sisera !'  I 
have  solved  that  mystery,  for  the  i  stars  in  their 
courses'  have  fought  against  me  ;  heaven,  earth,  man, 
time,  circumstances,  coincidences,  all  spun  the  web 
that  snared  my  innocent  feet.  When  I  paid  for  the 
telegram  to  relieve  my  mother's  suspense,  I  had  not 
sufficient  money  (without  using  the  gold)  to  enable  me 
to  incur  hotel  bills  ;  and  I  asked  permission  to  remain 
in  the  waiting-room  until  the  next  train,  which  was 
due  at  3.05.  The  room  was  so  close  and  warm  I  walked 
out,  and  the  fresh  air  tempted  me  to  remain.  The  moon 
was  up,  full  and  bright,  and  knowing  no  other  street, 
I  unconsciously  followed  the  one  I  had  taken  in  the 
afternoon.  Very  soon  I  reached  the  point  near  the 
old  church  where  the  road  crosses,  and  I  turned  into 
it,  thinking  that  I  would  enjoy  one  more  breath  of  the 
pine  forest,  which  was  so  new  to  me.  It  was  so  op 
pressively  hot  I  sat  down  on  the  pine  straw,  and 
fanned  myself  with  my  hat.  How  long  I  remained 
there,  I  know  not,  for  I  fell  asleep ;  and  when  I  awoke, 
Mr.  Dunbar  rode  up  and  asked  if  I  had  lost  my  way. 
L  answered  that  I  had  not,  and  as  soon  as  he  galloped 
on,  I  walked  back  as  rapidly  as  possible,  somewhat 
frightened  at  the  loneliness  of  my  position.  Already 
clouds  were  gathering,  and  I  had  been  in  the  waiting- 
room,  I  think  about  an  hour,  when  the  storm  broke  in 
its  fury.  I  had  seen  the  telegraph  operator  sitting  in 
his  office,  but  he  seemed  asleep,  with  his  head  resting 
on  the  table  ;  and  during  the  storm  I  sat  on  the  floor, 


288 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


in  one  corner  of  the  waiting-room,  and  laid  my  head 
on  a  chair.  At  last,  when  the  tempest  ended,  I  went  to 
sleep.  During1  that  sleep,  I  dreamed  of  my  old  home  in 
Italy,  of  some  of  my  dead,  of  my  father — of  gathering 
grapos  with  one  I  dearly  loved — and  suddenly  some 
noise  made  me  spring  to  my  feet.  I  heard  voices  talk 
ing,  and  in  my  feverish  dreamy  state,  there  seemed  a 
resemhlance  to  one  I  knew.  Only  half  awake,  I  ran 
out  on  the  pavement.  Whether  I  dreamed  the  whole, 
I  cannot  tell ;  hut  the  conversation  seemed  strangely 
distinct ;  and  I  can  never  forget  the  words,  he  they 
real,  or  imaginary : 

" '  There  ain't  no  train  till  daylight,  'cepting  it  be 
the  through  freight.' 

"  Then  a  different  voice  asked :  '  When  is  that  due  ?' 

" '  Pretty  soon  I  reckon,  it's  mighty  nigh  time  now, 
but  it  don't  stop  here  ;  it  goes  on  to  the  water  tank, 
where  it  blows  for  the  bridge.' 

" « How  far  is  the  bridge  ?' 

" '  Only  a  short  piece  down  the  track,  after  you  pass 
the  tank.' 

"  When  I  reached  the  street,  I  saw  no  one  but  the 
figure  of  an  old  man,  I  think  a  negro,  who  was  walk 
ing  away.  He  limped  and  carried  a  bundle  on  the  end 
of  a  stick  thrown  over  his  shoulder.  I  was  so  startled 
and  impressed  by  the  fancied  sound  of  a  voice  once 
familiar  to  me,  that  I  walked  on  down  the  track,  but 
could  see  no  one.  Soon  the  '  freight '  came  along ;  I 
stood  aside  until  it  passed,  then  returned  to  the  station, 
and  found  the  agent  standing  in  the  door.  When  he 
questioned  me  about  my  movements,  I  deemed  him 
impertinent ;  but  having  nothing  to  conceal,  stated  the 
facts  I  have  just  recapitulated.  You  have  been  told 
that  I  intentionally  missed  the  train ;  that  when  seen 
at  10  P.M.  in  the  pine  woods,  1  was  stealing  back  to 


AT  THE  MERCY    OF  TIBERIUS. 

my  mother's  old  home ;  that  I  entered  at  midnight 
the  bedroom  where  her  father  slept,  stupefied  him 
with  chloroform,  broke  open  his  vault,  robbed  it  of 
money,  jewels  and  will;  and  that  when  Gen '1  Darrington 
awoke  and  attempted  to  rescue  his  property,  I  deliber 
ately  killed  him.  You  are  asked  to  believe  that  I  am 
'  the  incarnate  fiend  '  who  planned  and  committed  that 
horrible  crime,  and,  alas  for  me  !  every  circumstance 
seems  like  a  bloodhound  to  bay  me.  My  handkerchief 
was  found,  tainted  with  chloroform.  It  was  my  hand 
kerchief;  but  how  it  came  there,  on  Gen'l  Barring-ton's 
bed,  only  God  witnessed.  I  saw  among  the  papers  taken 
from  the  tin  box  and  laid  on  the  table,  a  large  envelope 
marked  in  red  ink,  '  Last  Will  and  Testament  of  Robert 
Luke  Darrington ' ;  but  I  never  saw  it  afterward.  I 
was  never  in  that  room  but  once;  and  the  last  and  only 
time  I  ever  saw  General  Darrington  was  when  I 
passed  out  of  the  glass  door,  and  left  him  standing  in 
the  middle  of  the  room,  with  the  tin  box  in  his  hand. 

"  I  can  call  no  witnesses ;  for  it  is  one  of  the  terrible 
fatalities  of  my  situation  that  I  stand  alone,  with  none 
to  corroborate  my  assertions.  Strange,  inexplicable 
coincidences  drag  me  down;  not  the  malice  of  men, 
but  the  throttling  grasp  of  circumstances.  I  am  the 
victim  of  some  diabolical  fate,  which  only  innocent 
blood  will  appease  ;  but  though  I  am  slaughtered  for 
crimes  I  did  not  commit,  I  know,  oh !  I  know,  that 
behind  fate,  stands  God  I — the  just  and  eternal  God, 
whom  I  trust,  even  in  this  my  hour  of  extremest  peril. 
Alone  in  the  world,  orphaned,  reviled,  wrecked  for 
all  time,  without  a  ray  of  hope,  I,  Beryl  Brentano,  deny 
every  accusation  brought  against  me  in  this  cruel 
arraignment ;  and  I  call  my  only  witness,  the  righteous 
God  above  us,  to  hear  my  solemn  asseveration  :  I  am 
innocent  of  this  crime ;  and  when  you  judicially 


390  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

murder  me  in  the  name  of  Justice,  your  hands  will  be 
dyed  in  blood  that  an  avenging  God  will  one  day  re 
quire  of  you.  Appearances,  circumstances,  coinciden 
ces  of  time  and  place,  each,  all,  conspire  to  hunt 
me  into  a  convict's  grave ;  but  remember,  my  twelve 
judges,  remember  that  a  hopeless,  forsaken,  broken 
hearted  woman,  expecting  to  die  at  your  hands,  stood 
before  you,  and  pleaded  first  and  last — Not  Guilty ! 
Not  Guilty  !- 

A  moment  she  paused,  then  raised  her  arms  toward 
heaven  and  added,  with  a  sudden  exultant  ring  in  her 
thrilling-  voice,  and  a  strang-e  rapt  splendor  in  her 
uplifted  eyes : 

"  Innocent !  Innocent !  Thou  God  knowest !  Inno 
cent  of  this  sin,  as  the  angels  that  see  Thy  face." 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

AS  a  glassy  summer  sea  suddenly  quivers,  heaves, 
billows  under  the  strong  steady  pressure  of  a 
rising1  gale,  so  that  human  mass  surged  and  broke  in 
waves  of  audible  emotion,  when  Beryl's  voice  ceased  ; 
for  the  grace  and  beauty  of  a  sorrowing  woman  hold  a 
spell  more  potent  than  volumes  of  forensic  eloquence, 
)f  juridic  casuistry,  of  rhetorical  pyrotechnics,  and  at 
.ts  touch,  the  latent  floods  of  pity  gushed  ;  people 
sprang-  to  their  feet,  and  somewhere  in  the  wide  audi 
tory  a  woman  sobbed.  Habitues  of  a  celebrated  Salon 
des  Etrangers  recall  the  tradition  of  a  Hungarian 
nobleman  who,  apparently  calm,  nonchalant,  debonair, 
gambled  desperately;  "while  his  right  hand,  resting 
easily  inside  the  breast  of  his  coat,  clutched  and  lacer- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  291 

ated  his  flesh  till  his  nails  dripped  with  blood."  With 
emotions  somewhat  analogous,  Mr.  Dunbar  sat  as  par 
ticipant  in  this  judicial  rouge  et  noir,  where  the  stakes 
were  a  human  life,  and  the  skeleton  hand  of  death  was 
already  outstretched.  Listening-  to  the  calm,  mourn 
ful  voice  which  alone  had  power  to  stir  and  thrill  his 
pulses,  he  could  not  endure  the  pain  of  watching-  the 
exquisite  face  that  haunted  him  day  and  night ;  and 
when  he  computed  the  chances  of  her  conviction,  a 
maddening  perception  of  her  danger  made  his  brain 
reel. 

To  all  of  us  comes  a  supreme  hour,  when  realizing 
the  adamantine  limitations  of  human  power,  the  "  thus 
far,  no  farther  "  of  relentless  physiological,  psycholog 
ical  and  ethical  statutes  under  which  humanity  lives, 
moves, has  its  being — our  desperate  souls  break  through 
the  meshes  of  that  pantheistic  idolatry  which  kneels 
only  to  "  Natural  Laws  ";  and  spring  as  suppliants  to 
Him,  who  made  Law  possible.  We  take  our  portion 
of  happiness  and  prosperity,  and  while  it  lasts  we 
wander  far,  far  away  in  the  seductive  land  of  philo 
sophical  speculation,  and  revel  in  the  freedom  and  ir 
responsibility  of  Agnosticism ;  and  lo  !  when  adver 
sity  smites,  and  bankruptcy  is  upon  us,  we  toss  the 
husks  of  the  "  Unknowable  and  Unthinkable"  behind 
us,  and  flee  as  the  Prodigal  who  knew  his  father,  to 
that  God  whom  (in  trouble)  we  surely  know. 

Certainly  Lennox  Dunbar  was  as  far  removed  from 
religious  tendencies  as  conformity  to  the  canons  of  con 
ventional  morality  and  the  habits  of  an  honorable 
gentleman  in  good  society  would  permit ;  yet  to-day,  in 
the  intensity  of  his  dread,  lest  the  "  consummate  flow 
er"  of  his  heart's  dearest  hope  should  be  laid  low  in  the 
dust,  he  involuntarily  invoked  the  aid  of  a  long-forgot 
ten  God  ;  and  through  his  set  teeth  a  prayer  struggled 


292  AT   THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

up  to  the  throne  of  that  divine  mercy,  which  in  sun 
shine  we  do  not  see,  but  which  as  the  soul's  eternal 
lighthouse  gleams,  glows,  beckons  in  the  blackest 
night  of  human  anguish.  In  boyhood,  desiring  to 
please  his  invalid  and  slowly  d}ang  mother,  he  had 
purchased  and  hung  up  opposite  her  bed,  an  illumin 
ated  copy  of  her  favorite  text ;  and  now,  by  some 
subtle  transmutation  in  the  conservation  of  spiritual 
energy,  each  golden  letter  of  that  Bible  text  seemed 
emblazoned  on  the  dusty  wall  of  the  court-room : 
"  God  is  our  refuge  and  strength,  a  very  present  help 
in  trouble." 

When  a  stern  reprimand  from  the  Judge  had  quell 
ed  all  audible  expression  of  the  compassionate  sym 
pathy  that  flowed  at  the  prisoner's  story— as  the  flood 
at  Horeb  responded  to  Moses'  touch — there  wasabriei 
silence. 

Mr.  Dunbar  rose,  crossed  the  intervening  space  and 
stood  with  his  hand  on  the  back  of  Beryl's  chair ;  then 
moved  on  closer  to  the  jury  box. 

"May  it  please  your  Honor,  and  Gentlemen  of  the 
Jury:  Sometimes  mistakes  are  crimes,  and  he  who 
through  unpardonable  rashness  commits  them,  should 
not  escape  '  un whipped  of  justice'.  When  a  man  in  the 
discharge  of  that  which  he  deemed  a  duty,  becomes 
aware  that  unintentionally  he  has  perpetrated  a  great 
wrong,  can  he  parley  with  pride,  or  dally,  because  the 
haunting  ghost  of  consistency  waves  him  back  from 
the  path  of  a  humiliating  reparation  ?  Error  is  easy, 
confession  galling ;  and  stepping  down  from  the  cen 
sor's  seat  to  share  the  mortification  of  the  pillory,  is 
at  all  times  a  peculiarly  painful  reverse  ;  hence,  power 
ful  indeed  must  be  the  conviction  which  impels  a  man 
who  prided  himself  on  his  legal  astuteness,  to  come 
boldly  into  this  sacred  confessional  of  truth  and  justice 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  293 

and  plead  for  absolution  from  a  stupendous  mistake. 
Two  years  ago,  I  became  Gen'l  Darrington's  attorney, 
and  when  his  tragic  death  occurred  in  October  last,  my 
professional  relations,  as  well  as  lifelong  friendship,  in 
cited  me  to  the  prompt  apprehension  of  the  person 
who  had  murdered  hin.  After  a  careful  and  apparent* 
ly  exhaustive  examination  of  the  authenticated  facts, 
I  was  convinced  that  they  pointed  only  in  one  direc 
tion  ;  and  in  that  belief,  I  demanded  and  procured  the  ar 
rest  of  the  prisoner.  For  her  imprisonment,  her  pres 
ence  here  to-day,  her  awful  peril,  I  hold  myself  respon 
sible  ;  and  now,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  I  ask  you  as  men 
having  hearts  of  flesh,  and  all  the  honorable  instincts  of 
manhood,  which  alone  could  constitute  you  worthy  um 
pires  in  this  issue  of  life  or  death,  do  you,  can  you  won 
der  that  regret  sits  at  my  ear,  chanting  mournful  dirges, 
and  remorse  like  a  harpy  fastens  her  talons  in  my 
soul,  when  I  tell  you,  that  I  have  committed  a  blunder 
so  frightful,  that  it  borders  on  a  crime  as  heinous  as 
that  for  which  my  victim  stands  arraigned  ?  Wise 
was  the  spirit  of  a  traditional  statute,  which  decreed 
that  the  author  of  a  false  accusation  should  pay  the 
penalty  designed  for  the  accused ;  and  just  indeed 
would  be  the  retribution,  that  imposed  on  me  the  suf 
fering  I  have  entailed  on  her. 

"Acknowledging  the  error  into  whicn  undue  haste  be 
trayed  me,  yet  confident  that  divine  justice,  to  whom 
I  have  sworn  allegiance,  has  recalled  me  from  a  false 
path  to  one  that  I  can  now  tread  with  absolute  cer 
tainty  of  success,  I  come  to-day  into  this,  her  sacred 
temple,  lay  my  hand  on  her  inviolate  altar,  and  claim 
ing  the  approval  of  her  officiating  high-priest,  his 
Honor,  appeal  to  you,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  to  give 
me  your  hearty  co-operation  in  niy  effort  to  repair  a 
foul  wrong,  by  vindicating  innocence. 


294 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


'  'Professors  of  ophthalmology  in  a  diagnosis  of  optical 
diseases,  tell  us  of  a  symptom  of  infirmity  which  they 
call  pseudoblepsis,  or  '  false  sight '.  Legal  vision  ex 
hibits,  now  and  then,  a  corresponding  phase  of  uncon 
scious  perversion  of  sight,  whereby  objects  are  per 
ceived  that  do  not  exist,  and  objects  present  become 
transformed,  distorted ;  and  such  an  instance  of  exag 
gerated  metamorphopsia  is  presented  to-day,  in  the 
perverted  vision  of  the  prosecution.  In  the  incipienc}7 
of  this  case,  prior  to,  and  during  the  preliminary  ex 
amination  held  in  October  last,  I  appeared  in  conjunc 
tion  with  Mr.  Wolverton,  as  assistant  counsel  in  the 
prosecution,  represented  by  the  Honorable  Mr.  Church 
ill,  District  Solicitor ;  the  object  of  said  prosecution 
being  the  conviction  of  the  prisoner,  who  was  held  as 
guilty  of  Gen'l  Darrington's  death.  Subsequent  re 
flection  and  search  necessitated  an  abandonment  of 
views  that  could  alone  justify  such  a  position;  and 
after  consultation  with  my  colleagues  I  withdrew ;  not 
from  the  prosecution  of  the  real  criminal,  to  the  dis 
covery  and  conviction  of  whom  I  shall  dedicate  every 
energy  of  my  nature,  but  from  the  pursuit  of  one 
most  unjustly  accused.  Anomalous  as  is  my  attitude, 
the  dictates  of  conscience,  reason,  heart,  force  me  into' 
it ;  and  because  I  am  the  implacable  prosecutor  oi 
Gen'l  Darrington's  murderer,  I  come  to  plead  in  de 
fence  of  the  prisoner,  whom  I  hold  guiltless  of  the 
crime,  innocent  of  the  charge  in  the  indictment.  In 
the  supreme  hour  of  her  isolation,  she  has  invoked 
only  one  witness ;  and  may  that  witness,  the  God 
above  us,  the  God  of  justice,  the  God  of  innocence, 
grant  me  the  inspiration,  and  nerve  my  arm  to  snatch 
her  from  peril,  and  triumphantly  vindicate  the  purity 
of  her  noble  heart  and  life." 

Remembering  the  important  evidence  which  he  had 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  295 

furnished  to  the  prosecution,  only  a  few  hours  previous, 
when  on  the  witness  stand,  people  looked  at  one  another 
questioningly ;  doubting  the  testimony  of  their  own 
senses  ;  and  vox  populi  was  not  inaptly  expressed  by 
the  whispered  ejaculation  of  Bedney  to  Dyce. 

"Judgment  day  must  be  breaking!  Mars  Lennox 
is  done  turned  a  double  summersett,  and  lit  plum  over 
on  t'other  side  !  It's  about  ekal  to  a  spavinned,  ring- 
boned,  hamstrung,  hobbled  horse  clearin'  a  ten-rail 
fence  !  He  jumps  so  beautiful,  I  am  afeered  he  won't 
stay  whar  he  lit !" 

Comprehending  all  that  this  public  recantation  had 
cost  a  proud  man,  jealous  of  his  reputation  for  pro 
fessional  tact  and  skill,  as  well  as  for  individual 
acumen,  Beryl  began  to  realize  the  depth  and  fervor 
of  the  love  that  prompted  it ;  and  the  merciless  ordeal 
to  which  he  would  subject  her.  Inflicting  upon  him 
self  the  smarting  sting  of  the  keenest  possible  humil 
iation,  could  she  hope  that  in  the  attainment  of  his 
aim  he  would  spare  her  ?  If  she  threw  herself  even 
now  upon  his  mercy,  would  he  grant  to  her  that  which 
he  had  denied  himself  ? 

Dreading  the  consequences  of  even  a  moment's  delay, 
she  rose,  and  a  hot  flush  crimsoned  her  cheeks,  as  she 
looked  up  at  the  Judge. 

"  Is  it  my  privilege  to  decide  who  shall  defend  me  ? 
Have  I  now  the  right  to  accept  or  reject  proffered 
aid?" 

"The  law  grants  you  that  privilege;  secures  you 
that  right." 

' '  Then  I  decline  the  services  of  tne  counsel  who 
offers  to  plead  in  my  defence.  I  wish  no  human  voice 
raised  in  my  behalf  ;  and  having  made  my  statement 
in  my  own  defence,  I  commit  my  cause  to  the  hands  of 
my  God." 


296 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 


For  a  moment  her  eyes  dwelt  upon  the  lawyer's,  and 
as  she  resumed  her  seat,  she  saw  the  spark  in  their 
blue  depths  leap  into  a  flame.  Advancing-  a  few  steps, 
his  handsome  face  aglow,  his  voice  rang1  like  a  bugle 
call: 

"  May  it  please  your  Honor :  Anomalous  conditions 
sanction,  necessitate  most  anomalous  procedure,  where 
the  goal  sought  is  simple  truth  and  justice ;  and  since 
the  prisoner  prefers  to  rest  her  cause,  I  come  to  this  bar 
as  Amicus  Curies,  and  appeal  for  permission  to  plead 
in  behalf  of  my  clients,  truth  and  justice,  who  hold  me 
in  perpetual  retainment.  In  prosecution  of  the  real 
criminal,  in  order  to  unravel  the  curiously  knitted  web, 
and  bring  the  culprit  to  summary  punishment,  I  ask 
you,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  to  ponder  dispassionately 
the  theory  I  have  now  the  honor  to  submit  to  your 
scrutiny. 

* '  The  prisoner,  whom  I  regard  as  the  victim  of  my 
culpable  haste  and  deplorably  distorted  vision,  is.  as 
innocent  of  Gen'l  Darrington's  murder  as  you  or  I ;  but 
I  charge,  that  while  having  no  complicity  in  that  awful 
deed,  she  is  nevertheless  perfectly  aware  of  the  name 
of  the  person  who  committed  it.  Not  particeps  crim- 
inis,  neither  consenting  to,  aiding,  abetting  nor  even 
acquainted  with  the  fact  of  the  crime,  until  accused  of 
its  perpetration  ;  yet  at  this  moment  in  possession  of 
the  only  clue  which  will  enable  justice  to  seize  the 
murderer.  Conscious  of  her  innocence,  she  braves  peril 
that  would  chill  the  blood  of  men,  and  extort  almost 
any  secret ;  and  shall  I  tell  you  the  reason  ?  Shall  I 
give  you  the  key  to  an  enigma  which  she  knows  means 
death? 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  is  there  any  sacrifice  so 
tremendous,  any  anguish  so  keen,  any  shame  so  dread 
ful,  any  fate  so  overwhelmingly  terrible  as  to  transcend 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  29V 

the  endurance,  or  crush  the  power  of  a  woman's  love  ? 
Under  this  invincible  inspiration,  when  danger  threat 
ens  her  idol,  she  knows  no  self;  disgrace,  death  affright 
her  not ;  she  extends  her  arms  to  arrest  every  ap 
proach,  offers  her  own  breast  as  a  shield  against 
darts,  bullets,  sword  thrusts,  and  counts  it  a  privilege 
to  lay  down  life  in  defence  of  that  idol.  O !  loyalty 
supreme,  sublime,  immortal!  thy  name  is  woman's 
love. 

'  *  All  along  the  march  of  humanity,  where  centuries 
have  trailed  their  dust,  traditions  gleam  like  monu 
ments  to  attest  the  victory  of  this  immemorial 
potency,  female  fidelity ;  and  when  we  of  the  nineteenth 
century  seek  the  noblest,  grandest  type  of  merely 
human  self-abnegation,  that  laid  down  a  pure  ami 
happy  life,  to  prolong  that  of  a  beloved  object,  we  look 
back  to  the  lovely  image  of  that  fair  Greek  woman, 
who,  when  the  parents  of  the  man  she  loved  refused 
to  give  their  lives  to  save  their  son,  summoned  death 
to  accept  her  as  a  willing  victim;  and  deeming  it  a 
privilege,  went  down  triumphantly  into  the  grave. 
Sustained,  exalted  by  this  most  powerful  passion  that 
can  animate  and  possess  a  human  soul,  the  prisoner 
stands  a  pure,  voluntary,  self-devoted  victim ;  defying 
the  terrors  of  the  law,  consenting  to  condemnation — 
surrendering  to  an  ignominious  death,  in  order  to  save 
the  life  of  the  man  she  loves. 

"  Grand  and  beautiful  as  is  the  spectacle  of  her  calm 
mournful  heroism,  I  ask  you,  as  men  capable  of  appre 
ciating  her  noble  self-immolation,  can  you  permit  the 
consummation  of  this  sacrifice  ?  Will  you,  dare  you, 
selected,  appointed,  dedicated  by  solemn  oaths  to  ad 
minister  justice,  prove  so  recreant  to  your  holy  trust 
as  to  aid,  abet,  become  accessories  to,  and  responsible 
for  the  murder  of  the  prisoner,  by  accepting  a  stainless 


298 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


victim,  to  appease  that  violated  law  which  only  the 
blood  of  the  guilty  can  ever  satisfy  ? 

"  In  order  to  avert  so  foul  a  blot  on  the  escutcheon  oi 
our  State  judiciary,  hi  order  to  protect  innocence  from 
being  slaughtered,  and  supremely  in  order  to  track  and 
bring  to  summary  punishment  the  criminal  who  rob 
bed  and  murdered  Gen'l  Darrington,  I  now  desire,  and 
request,  that  your  Honor  will  permit  me  to  cross-ex 
amine  the  prisoner  on  the  statement  she  has  offered  in 
defence." 

' '  In  making  that  request,  counsel  must  be  aware 
that  it  is  one  of  the  statutory  provisions  of  safety  to 
the  accused,  whom  the  law  holds  innocent  until 
proved  guilty,  that  no  coercion  can  be  employed  to 
extort  answers.  It  is,  however,  the  desire  of  the 
court,  and  certainly  must  accrue  to  the  benefit  of  the 
prisoner,  that  she  should  take  the  witness  stand 
in  her  own  defence." 

For  a  moment  there  was  neither  sound  nor  motion. 

"  Will  the  prisoner  answer  such  questions  as  in  the 
opinion  of  the  court  are  designed  solely  to  establish  her 
innocence?  If  so,  she  will  take  the  stand." 

With  a  sudden  passionate  movement  at  variance 
with  her  demeanor  throughout  the  trial,  she  threw  up 
her  clasped  hands,  gazed  at  them,  then  pressed  them 
ring  downward  as  a  seal  upon  her  lips  ;  and  after  an 
instant,  answered  slowly  : 

' '  Now  and  henceforth,  I  decline  to  answer  any  and 
all  questions.  I  am  innocent,  entirely  innocent.  The 
burden  of  proof  rests  upon  my  accusers." 

As  Mr.  Dunbar  watched  her,  noted  the  scarlet  spots 
burning  on  her  cheeks,  the  strange  expression  of  her 
eyes  that  glowed  with  unnatural  lustre,  a  scowl  dark 
ened  his  face ;  a  cruel  smile  curved  his  lips,  and 
made  his  teeth  gleam.  Was  it  worth  while  to  save 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

her  against  her  will ;  to  preserve  the  heart  he  coveted, 
for  the  vile  miscreant  to  whom  she  had  irrevocably 
given  it  ?  With  an  upward  movement  of  his  noble 
head,  like  the  impatient  toss  of  a  horse  intolerant  of 
curb,  he  stepped  back  close  to  the  girl,  and  stood  with 
his  hand  on  the  back  of  her  chair. 

"  In  view  of  this  palpable  evasion  of  Justice  through 
obstinate  non  responsion,  will  it  please  the  Court  to 
overrule  the  prisoner's  objection?" 

Several  moments  elapsed  before  Judge  Parkman  re 
plied,  and  he  gnawed  the  end  of  his  grizzled  mustache, 
debating  the  consequences  of  dishonoring  precedent — 
that  fetich  of  the  Bench. 

"The  Court  cannot  so  rule.  The  prisoner  has  de 
cided  upon  the  line  of  defence,  as  is  her  inalienable 
right ;  and  since  she  persistently  assumes  that  respon 
sibility,  the  Court  must  sustain  her  decision." 

The  expression  of  infinite  and  intense  relief  that  stole 
over  the  girl's  countenance,  was  noted  by  both  judge 
and  jury,  as  she  sank  back  wearily  in  her  chair,  like 
one  lifted  from  some  rack  of  torture.  Resting  thus, 
her  shoulder  pressed  against  the  hand  that  lay  on 
the  top  of  the  chair,  but  he  did  not  move  a  finger; 
and  some  magnetic  influence  drew  her  gaze  to  meet 
his.  He  felt  the  tremor  that  crept  over  her,  under 
stood  the  mute  appeal,  the  prayer  for  forbearance  that 
made  her  mournful  gray  eyes  so  eloquent,  and  a 
sinister  smile  distorted  his  handsome  mouth. 

* '  The  spirit  and  intent  of  the  law,  the  usages  of 
criminal  practice,  above  all,  hoary  precedent,  before 
which  we  bow,  each  and  all  sanction  your  Honor's 
ruling ;  and  yet  despite  everything,  the  end  I  sought 
is  already  attained.  Is  not  the  refusal  of  the  prisoner 
proof  positive,  *  confirmation  strong  as  proofs  of  Holy 
Writ '  of  the  truth  of  my  .  theory  ?  With  jealous 


300 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


dread  she  seeks  to  lock  the  clue  in  her  faithful  heart, 
courting  even  the  conin,  that  would  keep  it  safe 
through  all  the  storms  of  time.  Impregnable  in  her 
citadel  of  silence,  with  the  cohorts  of  Codes  to  protect 
her  from  escalade  and  assault,  will  the  guardians  of 
justice  have  obeyed  her  solemn  commands  when  they 
permit  the  prisoner  to  light  the  funeral  pyre  where 
she  elects  to  throw  herself — a  vicarious  sacrifice  for 
another's  sins?  For  a  nature  so  exalted,  the  Provi 
dence  who  endowed  it  has  decreed  a  nobler  fate ;  and  by 
His  help,  and  that  of  your  twelve  consciences,  I  pur 
pose  to  save  her  from  a  species  of  suicide,  and  to  con 
sign  to  the  hangman  the  real  criminal.  The  evidence 
now  submitted,  will  be  furnished  by  the  testimony  of 
witnesses  who,  at  my  request,  have  been  kept  without 
the  hearing  of  the  Court." 

He  left  Beryl's  chair,  and  once  more  approached  the 
jury. 

"Isam  Hornbuckle." 

A  negro  man,  apparently  sixty  years  old,  limped 
into  the  witness  stand,  and  having  been  sworn,  stood 
leaning  on  his  stick,  staring  uneasily  about  him. 

'  *  What  is  your  name  ?" 

"  Isam  Clay  Hornbuckle." 

"Where  do  you  live  ?" 

"Nigh  the  forks  of  the  road,  close  to  'Possum 
Ridge." 

"  How  far  from  town  ?" 

"  By  short  cuts  I  make  it  about  ten  miles ;  but  the 
gang  what  works  the  road,  calls  it  twelve." 

"  Have  you  a  farm  there  ?" 

"  Yes'ir.  A  pretty  tolerble  farm  ;  a  cornfield  and 
potato  patch  and  gyarden,  and  parsture  for  my  horgs 
and  oxin,  and  a  slipe  of  woods  for  my  pine  knots." 

"  What  is  your  business  ?" 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  301 

"  Tryin'  to  make  a  livin',  and  it  keeps  me  bizzy,  for 
lans  is  poor,  and  seasons  is  most  ginerally  agin 
crops." 

"  How  long  have  you  been  farming  ?" 

"  Only  sence  I  got  mashed  up  more  'an  a  year  ago 
on  the  railroad." 

"  In  what  capacity  did  you  serve,  when  working  on 
the  railroad?" 

*  *  I  was  fireman  under  ingeneer  Walker  on  the  loky- 
motive    *  Gin'l     Borygyard,'    what    most    ginerally 
hauled    Freight  No.  2.      The  mgines  goes    now   by 
numbers,  but  we  ole  hands  called  our'n  always  '  Bory 
gyard'.  " 

*  *  You   were  crippled  in    a    collision    between  two 
freight  trains?" 

"Yes'ir;  but  t'other  train  was  the  cause  of  the — " 

"  Never  mind  the  cause  of  the  accident.  You  moved 
out  to  'Possum  Ridge ;  can  you  remember  exactly 
when  you  were  last  in  town  ?" 

"To  be  shore  !  I  know  ezactly,  'cause  it  was  the 
day  my  ole  'oman's  step-father's  granny's  funeral 
sarmont  was  preached ;  and  that  was  on  a  Thursday, 
twenty- sixth  of  October,  an'  I  come  up  to  'tend  it." 

"  Is  it  not  customary  to  preach  the. funeral  sermons 
on  Sunday?" 

"Most  ginerally,  Boss,  it  are;  but  you  see  Bre'r 
Green,  what  was  to  preach  the  ole  'oman's  sarmont, 
had  a  big  baptizin'  for  two  Sundays  han'  runnin',  and 
he  was  gwine  to  Boston  for  a  speU,  on  the  next  comin' 
Saddy,  so  bein'  as  our  time  belonks  to  us  now,  we  was 
free  to  'pint  a  week  day." 

"  You  are  positive  it  was  the  twenty-sixth  ?" 

"  Oh,  yes'ir ;  plum  postiv.  The  day  was  norated 
from  all  the  baptiss  churches,  so  as  the  kinfolks  could 
gether  from  fur  and  nigh." 


302 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 


"  At  what  hour  on  Thursday  was  the  funeral  ser 
mon  preached  ?" 

"  Four  o'clock  sharp." 

"  Where  did  you  stay  while  in  town  ?" 

"  With  my  son  Ducaleyon  who  keeps  a  barber-shop 
on  Main  Street." 

"  When  did  you  return  home  ?" 

"I  started  before  day,  Friday  mornin',  as  soon  as  the 
rain  hilt  up." 

"  At  what  hour,  do  you  think  ?" 

"  The  town  clock  was  a  strfkin'  two,  jes  as  I  passed 
the  express  office,  at  the  station." 

"  Now,  Isam,  tell  the  Court  whom  you  saw,  and 
what  happened ;  and  be  very  careful  in  all  you  say,  re 
membering  you  are  on  your  oath." 

"  I  was  atoting  a  bundle  so — slung  on  to  a  stick,  and 
it  galded  my  shoulder,  'cause  amongst  a  whole  passel  of 
plunder  I  had  bought,  ther  was  a  bag  of  shot  inside, 
what  had  slewed  'round  oft  the  balance,  and  I  sot 
down,  close  to  a  lamp-post  nigh  the  station,  to  shift 
the  heft  of  the  shot  bag.  Whilst  I  were  a  squatting, 
tying  up  my  bundle,  I  heered  all  of  a  suddent — some 
body  runnin',  brip — brap — !  and  up  kem  a  man  from 
round  the  corner  of  the  station-house,  a  runnin'  full 
tilt ;  and  he  would  a  run  over  me,  but  I  grabbed  my 
bundle  and  riz  up.  Sez  I :  *  Hello!  what's  to  pay  ?' 
He  was  most  out  of  breath,  but  sez  he  :  'Is  the  train 
in  yet  ?'  Sez  I :  '  There  ain't  no  train  till  daylight, 
'cepting  it  be  the  through  freight.'  Then  he  axed  me  : 
*  When  is  that  due  ?'  and  I  tole  him:  '  Pretty  soon,  I 
reckon,  but  it  don't  stop  here ;  it  only  slows  up  at  the 
water  tank,  whar  it  blows  for  the  Bridge.'  Sez  he : 
'  How  fur  is  that  bridge  ?'  Sez  I :  '  Only  a  short  piece 
down  the  track,  after  you  pass  the  tank.'  He  tuck  a 
long  breath,  and  kinder  whistled,  and  with  that  he  turn- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  303 

ed  and  heeled  it  down  the  middle  of  the  track.  I 
thought  it  mighty  curus,  and  my  mind  misgive  mo 
thar  was  somethin'  crooked ;  but  I  always  pintedly 
dodges  ;  '  lie-lows  to  ketch  meddlers,'  and  I  went  on 
my  way.  When  I  got  nigh  the  next  corner  whar  I 
had  to  turn  to  cross  the  river,  I  looked  back  and  I  seen 
a  'ornan  standin'  on  the  track,  hi  front  of  the  station- 
house;  but  I  parsed  on,  and  soon  kern  to  the  bridge 
(not  the  railroad  bridge),  Boss.  I  had  got  on  the  top 
of  the  hill  to  the  left  of  the  Pentenchry,  when  1 
hearn  ole  '  Bory'  blow.  You  see  I  knowed  the  runnin' 
of  the  kyars,  'cause  that  through  freight  was  my 
ole  stormpin-ground,  and  I  love  the  sound  of  that 
ingine's  whistle  more  'an  I  do  my  gran' child un's  hymn 
chunes.  She  blowed  long  and  vicious  like,  and  I  seen 
her  sparks  fly,  as  she  lit  out  through  town ;  and  then 
I  footed  it  home." 

'  *  You  think  the  train  was  on  time  ?" 

"  Bound  to  be  ;  she  never  was  cotched  behind  time, 
not  while  I  stuffed  her  with  coal  and  lightwood  knots. 
She  was  plum  punctchul." 

"Was  the  lamp  lighted  where  you  tied  your 
bundle?" 

"  Yes'ir,  burnin'  bright." 

"Tell  the  Court  the  appearance  of  the  man  whom 
you  talked  with." 

Mr.  Dunbar  was  watching  the  beautiful  face  so  dear 
to  him,  and  saw  the  prisoner  lean  forward,  her  lips 
parted,  all  her  soul  in  the  wide,  glowing  eyes  fastened 
on  the  countenance  of  the  witness. 

"  He  was  very  tall  and  wiry,  and  'peared  like  a 
young  man  what  had  parstured  'mongst  wild  oats.  He 
seemed  cut  out  for  a  gintleman,  but  run  to  seed  too 
quick  and  turned  out  nigh  kin  to  a  dead  beat.  One- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

half  of  him  was  hanssum,  'minded  me  mightly  of  that 
stone  head  with  kurly  hair  what  sets  over  the  sody 
fountin  in  the  drug  store,  on  Main  Street.  Oh,  yes'ir, 
one  side  was  too  pretty  for  a  man ;  but  t'other ! 
Fo'  Gawd  !  t'other  made  your  teeth  ache,  and  sot  you 
cross-eyed  to  look  at  it.  He  toted  a  awful  brand  to  bo 
shore." 

"What  do  you  mean  by  one  side  ?  Explain  your 
self  carefully  now." 

"  I  dun'no  as  I  can  'splain,  'cause  I  ain't  never  seed 
nothing  like  it  afore.  One  'zact  half  of  him,  from  his 
hair  to  his  shirt  collar  was  white  and  pretty, like  I  toll 
you,  but  t'other  side  of  his  face  was  black  as  tar,  and 
his  kurly  hair  was  gone,  and  the  whiskers  on  that  sido 
— and  his  eye  was  drapped  down  kinder  so,  and  that 
side  of  his  mouth  sorter  hung,  like  it  was  unpinned,  this 
way.  Mebbee  he  was  born  so,  mebbee  not;  but  ho 
looked  like  he  had  jes  broke  loose  from  the  cunjur,  and 
caryd  his  mark." 

For  one  fleeting  moment,  the  gates  of  heaven  seem 
ed  thrown  wide,  and  the  glory  of  the  Kingdom  of  Peace 
streamed  down  upon  the  aching  heart  of  the  desolate 
woman.  She  could  recognize  no  dreaded  resemblance 
in  the  photograph  drawn  by  the  witness  ;  and  judge, 
jury  and  counsel  who  scrutinized  her  during  the  re 
cital  of  the  testimony,  were  puzzled  by  the  smile  oi 
joy  that  suddenly  flashed  over  her  features,  like  the 
radiance  of  a  lamp  lifted  close  to  some  marble  face, 
dim  with  shadows. 

"Do  you  think  his  face  indicated  that  he  had  been 
engaged  in  a  difficulty,  in  a  fight  ?  Was  there  any 
sign  of  blood,  or  anything  that  looked  as  if  he  had 
been  bruised  and  wounded  by  some  heavy  blow  ?" 

sir.    Didn't  seem  like  sech  bruises  as  comes 


AT  THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  305 

of  fightin'.     'Feared  to  me  he  was  somehow  branded 
like,  and  the  mark  he  toted  was  onnatral." 

"  If  he  had  wished  to  disguise  himself  by  blackening 
one  side  of  his  face,  would  he  not  have  presented  a, 
similar  appearance?" 

"  ISTaw,  sir,  not  by  no  manner  of  means.  ISTo  min 
strel  tricks  fotch  him  to  the  pass  he  was  at.  The 
hand  of  the  Lord  must  have  laid  too  heavy  on  him ; 
no  mortal  wounds  leave  sech  terrifyin'  prints." 

1 '  How  was  he  dressed  ?" 

"  Dunno.  My  eyes  never  drapped  below  that  curus 
face  of  his'n." 

"  Was  he  bareheaded  ?" 

"  Bar  headed  as  when  he  come  into  the  world." 

"  He  talked  like  a  man  in  desperate  haste,  who  was 
running  to  escape  pursuit?" 

"  He  shorely  did." 

' '  Did  you  mention  to  any  person  what  you  have  told 
hereto-day?" 

"  I  tole  my  ole  'oman,  and  she  said  she  reckoned  it 
was  a  buth  mark  what  the  man  carryd ;  but  when  I 
seen  him  I  thunk  he  was  cunjured." 

"  When  you  heard  that  Gen'l  Darrington  had  been 
murdered,  did  you  think  of  this  man  and  his  singular 
behavior  that  night?" 

1 1 1  never  hearn  of  the  murder  till  Christmas,  'cause 
I  went  down  to  Elbert  County  arter  a  yoke  of  steers 
what  a  man  owed  me,  and  thar  I  tuck  sick  and  kep 
my  bed  for  weeks.  When  I  got  home,  and  hearn  the 
talk  about  the  murder,  I  didn't  know  it  was  the  same 
night  what  I  seen  the  branded  man." 

"  Tell  the  Court  how  your  testimony  was  secured." 

"  It  was  n orated  in  all  our  churches  that  a  'ward 
was  offered  for  a  lame  cullud  pusson  of  my  "scription, 
and  Deacon  Nathan  he  cum  down  and  axed  me  what 


306 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


mischief  Fde  been  a  doin',  that  I  was  wanted  to  an 
swer  fur.  He  read  me  the  'vertisement,  and  pus- 
suaded  me  to  go  with  him  to  your  office,  and  you  tuck 
me  to  Mr.  Churchill." 

Mr.  Dunbar  bowed  to  the  District  Solicitor,  who 
rose  and  cross-examined. 
"  Can  you  read  ?" 
"Naw,  sir." 

"  Where  is  your  son  Deucalion?" 
u  Two  days  after  I  left  town  he  went  with  a  '  Love 
and  Charity '  scurschion  up  north,  and  he  liked  it  so 
well  in  Baltymore,  he  staid  thar.'r 

"  When  Deacon  Nathan  brought  you  up  to  town, 
did  you  know  for  what  purpose  Mr.  Dunbar  wanted 
you?" 

"Naw,  sir." 

"  Was  it  not  rather  strange  that  none  of  your 
friends  recognized  the  description  of  you,  published  in 
the  paper  ?" 

"  Seems  some  of  'em  did,  but  felt  kind  of  juVrus 
'bout  pinting  me  out,  for  human  natur  is  prone  to 
crooked  ways,  and  they  never  hearn  I  perfessed 
sanctification.' 

"  Who  told  you  the  prisoner  had  heard  your  con 
versation  with  the  man  you  met  that  night  ?" 

"  Did  she  hear  it  ?  Then  you  are  the  first  pusson  to 
tell  me." 

"  How  long  was  it,  after  you  saw  the  man,  before 
you  heard  the  whistle  of  the  freight  train  ?" 

' '  As  nigh  as  I  kin  rickolect  about  a  half  a  hour,  but 
not  quite." 

"  Was  it  raining  at  all  when  you  saw  the  woman 
standing  on  the  track?" 

"  Naw,  sir.  The  trees  was  dripping  steady,  but  the 
moon  was  shining." 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  307 

"  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  statement  made 
by  the  prisoner  ?" 

""Naw,  sir." 

"  Fritz  Helmetag." 

As  Isam  withdrew,  a  middle-aged  man  took  the 
stand,  and  in  answer  to  Mr.  Dunbar's  questions  de 
posed  :  "  That  he  was  *  bridge  tender'  on  the  railroad, 
and  lived  in  a  cottage  not  far  from  the  water  tank. 
On  the  night  of  the  twenty-sixth  of  October,  he  was 
sitting  up  with  a  sick  wife,  and  remembered  that  being 
feverish,  she  asked  for  some  fresh  water.  He  went 
out  to  draw  some  from  the  well,  and  saw  a  man  stand 
ing  not  far  from  the  bridge.  The  moon  was  behind  a 
row  of  trees,  but  he  noticed  the  man  was  bareheaded, 
and  when  he  called  to  know  what  he  wanted,  he  walked 
back  toward  the  tank.  Five  minutes  later  the  freight 
train  blew,  and  after  it  had  crossed  the  bridge,  he  went 
back  to  his  cottage.  The  man  was  standing  close  to 
the  safety  signal,  a  white  light  fastened  to  an  iron 
stanchion  at  south  end  of  the  bridge,  and  seemed  to  be 
reading  something.  Next  day,  when  he  (witness)  went 
as  usual  to  examine  the  piers  and  under  portions  of 
the  bridge,  he  had  found  the  pipe,  now  in  Mr.  Dunbar's 
possession.  Tramps  so  often  rested  on  the  bridge,  and 
on  the  shelving  bank  of  the  river  beneath  it,  that  he 
attached  no  importance  to  the  circumstance  ;  but  felt 
confident  the  pipe  was  left  by  the  man  whom  he  had 
seen,  as  it  was  not  there  the  previous  afternoon;  and 
he  put  it  in  a  pigeon-hole  of  his  desk,  thinking  the 
owner  might  return  to  claim  it.  On  the  same  day,  he 

had  left  X to  carry  his  wife  to  her  mother,  who 

lived  in  Pennsylvania,  and  was  absent  for  several 
weeks.  Had  never  associated  the  pipe  with  the 
murder,  but  after  talking  with  Mr.  Dunbar,  who  had 
found  the  half  of  an  envelope  near  the  south  end  of 


308 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


the  bridge,  he  had  surrendered  it  to  him.     Did  not  see 
the  man's  face  distinctly.     He  looked  tall  and  thin." 

Here  Mr.  Dunbar  held  up  a  fragment  of  a  long 
white  envelope  such  as  usually  contain  legal  documents, 
on  which  in  large  letters  was  written  "  LAST  WILL"- 
and  underscored  with  red  ink.  Then  he  lifted  a  pipe,  for 
the  inspection  of  the  witness,  who  identified  it  as  the 
one  he  had  found. 

As  he  turned  it  slowly,  the  Court  and  the  multitude 
saw  only  a  meerschaum  with  a  large  bowl  represent 
ing  a  death's  head,  to  which  was  attached  a  short 
mouth-piece  of  twisted  amber. 

The  golden  gates  of  hope  clashed  suddenly,  and 
over  them  flashed  a  drawn  sword,  as  Beryl  looked  at 
the  familiar  pipe,  which  her  baby  fingers  had  so  often 
strained  to  grasp.  How  well  she  knew  the  ghastly 
ivor}^  features,  the  sunken  eyeless  sockets — of  that 
veritable  death's  head  ?  How  vividly  came  back  the 
day,  when  asleep  in  her  father's  arms,  a  spark  from 
that  grinning  skull  had  fallen  on  her  cheek,  and  she 
awoke  to  find  that  fond  father  bending  in  remorseful 
tenderness  over  her?  Years  ago,  she  had  reverently 
packed  the  pipe  away,  with  other  articles  belonging  to 
the  dead,  and  ignorant  that  her  mother  had  given  it  to 
Bertie,  she  deemed  it  safe  in  that  sacred  repository. 
Now,  like  the  face  of  Medusa  it  glared  at  her,  and  that 
which  her  father's  lips  had  sanctified,  became  the  pollut 
ed  medium  of  a  retributive  curse  upon  his  devoted  child. 
So  the  Diabolus  ex  machina,  the  evil  genius  of  each  hu 
man  life  decrees  that  the  most  cruel  cureless  pangs 
are  inflicted  by  the  instruments  we  love  best. 

Watching  for  some  sign  of  recognition,  Mr.  Dunbar's 
heart  was  fired  with  jealous  rage,  as  he  marked  the 
swift  change  of  the  prisoner's  countenance  ;  the  vanish 
ing  of  the  gleam  of  hope,  the  gloomy  desperation  that 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  309 

succeeded.  The  beautiful  black  brows  met  in  a  spasm 
of  pain  over  eyes  that  stared  at  an  abyss  of  ruin  ;  her 
lips  whitened,  she  wrung  her  hands  unconsciously ;  and 
then,  as  if  numb  with  horror,  she  leaned  back  in  her 
chair,  and  her  chin  sank  until  it  touched  the  black  rib 
bon  at  her  throat.  When  after  a  while  she  rallied, 
and  forced  herself  to  listen,  a  pleasant-faced  young 
man  was  on  the  witness  stand. 

"  My  name  is  Edgar  Jennings,  and  I  live  at  T , 

in  Pennsylvania.     I  am  ticket  agent  at  that  point,  of 

railway.     One  day,  about  the  last  of  October  (I 

think  it  was  on  Monday),  I  was  sitting  in  my  office 
when  a  man  came  in,  and  asked  if  I  could  sell  him  a 
ticket  to  St.  Paul.  I  told  him  I  only  had  tickets  as  far 
as  Chicago,  via  Cincinnati.  He  bought  one  to  Cincin 
nati  and  asked  how  soon  he  could  go  on.  I  told  him 
the  train  from  the  east  was  due  in  a  few  minutes. 
When  he  paid  for  his  ticket  he  gave  me  a  twenty- 
dollar  gold  piece,  and  his  hand  shook  so,  he  dropped 
another  piece  of  the  same  value  on  the  floor.  His 
appearance  was  so  remarkable  I  noticed  him  particular 
ly.  He  was  a  man  about  my  age,  very  tall  and  finely 
made,  but  one  half  of  his  face  was  black,  or  rather  very 
dark  blue,  and  he  wore  a  handkerchief  bandage-fashion 
across  it.  His  left  eye  was  drawn  down,  this  way,  and 
his  mouth  was  one-sided.  His  right  63*6  was  black, 
and  his  hair  was  very  light  brown.  He  wore  a  close- 
fitting  wool  hat,  that  flapped  down,  and  his  clothes 
were  seal-brown  in  color,  but  much  worn,  and  evi 
dently  old.  I  asked  him  where  he  lived,  and  he  said 
he  was  a  stranger  going  West,  on  a  pioneering  tour. 
Then  I  asked  what  ailed  his  face,  and  he  pulled  the 
handkerchief  over  his  left  eye,  and  said  he  was  partly 
paralyzed  from  an  accident,  Just  then,  the  eastern 
train  blew  for  T .  He  said  he  wanted  some  cigars 


310  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

or  a  pipe,  as  he  had  lost  his  own  on  the  way,  and  won 
dered  if  he  would  have  time  to  go  out  and  buy  some. 
I  told  him  no ;  but  that  he  could  have  a  couple  of 
cigars  from  my  box.  He  thanked  me,  and  took  two, 
laying-  down  a  silver  dime  on  top  of  the  box.  He  put 
his  hand  in  the  inside  pocket  of  his  coat,  and  pulled 
out  an  empty  envelope,  twisted  it,  lit  it  by  the  coal 
fire  in  the  grate,  and  lighted  his  cigar.  The  train 
rolled  into  the  station ;  he  passed  out,  and  I  saw  him 
jump  aboard  the  front  passenger  coach.  He  had 
thrown  the  paper,  as  he  thought,  into  the  fire,  but  it 
slipped  off  the  grate,  fell  just  inside  the  fender,  and 
the  flame  went  out.  There  was  something  so  very 
peculiar  in  his  looks  and  manner,  that  I  thought  there 
was  some  mystery  about  his  movements.  I  picked 
up  the  paper,  saw  the  writing  on  it,  and  locked  it  up 
in  my  cash  drawer.  He  had  evidently  been  a  very 
handsome  man,  before  his  '  accident',  but  he  had  a 
jaded,  worried,  wretched  look.  When  a  detective  from 
Baltimore  interviewed  me,  I  told  him  all  I  knew,  and 
gave  him  the  paper." 

Again  Mr.  Dunbar  drew  closer  to  the  jury,  held  up 
the  former  fragment  of  envelope,  and  then  took  from 
his  pocket  a  second  piece.  Jagged  edges  fitted  into 
each  other,  and  he  lifted  for  the  inspection  of  hundreds 
of  eyes,  the  long  envelope  marked  and  underscored  :— 
"LAST  WILL  AND  TESTAMENT  OF  ROBERT  LUKE 
DARRINGTON."  The  lower  edge  of  the  paper  was  at 
one  corner  brown,  scorched,  somewhat  burned. 

"  Lucullus  Grantlin." 

An  elderly  man  of  noble  presence  advanced,  and  Mr. 
Dunbar  met  and  shook  hands  with  him,  accompanying 
him  almost  to  the  stand.  At  sight  of  his  white  head, 
and  flowing  silvery  beard,  Beryl's  heart  almost  ceased 
its  pulsation.  If,  during  her  last  illness  her  mother 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  311 

had  acquainted  him  with  their  family  history,  then  in 
deed  all  was  lost.  It  was  as  impossible  to  reach  him 
and  implore  his  silence,  as  though  the  ocean  rocked 
between  them ;  and  how  would  he  interpret  the  plead 
ing"  gaze  she  fixed  upon  his  face  ?  The  imminence  of 
the  danger,  vanquished  every  scruple,  strangled  her 
pride.  She  caught  Mr.  Dunbar's  eye,  beckoned  him  to 
approach. 

When  he  stood  before  her,  she  put  out  her  hand, 
seized  one  of  his,  and  drew  him  down  until  his  black 
head  almost  touched  hers.  She  placed  her  lips  close 
to  his  ear,  and  whispered  : 

"For  God's  sake  spare  the  secrets  of  a  death-bed. 
Be  merciful  to  me  now ;  oh !  I  entreat  you — do  not 
drag  my  mother  from  her  grave  !  Do  not  question 
Dr.  Grantlin." 

She  locked  her  icy  hands  around  his,  pressing  it  con 
vulsively.  Turning,  he  laid  his  lips  close  to  the 
silky  fold  of  hair  that  had  fallen  across  her  ear  : 

"If  I  dismiss  this  witness,  will  you  tell  me  the 
truth  ?  Will  you  give  me  the  name  of  the  man  whom 
I  am  hunting  ?  Will  you  confess  all  to  me  ?" 

"I  have  no  sins  to  confess.  I  have  made  my  last 
statement.  If  you  laid  my  coffin  at  my  feet,  I  should 
only  say  I  am  innocent;  I  would  tell  you  nothing  more." 

"  Then  his  life  is  so  precious,  you  are  resolved  to  die, 
rather  than  trust  me  ?" 

She  dropped  his  hand,  and  leaned  back  in  her  chair, 
closing  her  eyes.  When  she  opened  them,  Doctor 
Grantlin  was  speaking : 

"  I  am  on  my  way  to  Havana,  with  an  invalid 
daughter,  and  stopped  here  last  night,  at  the  request 
of  Mr.  Dunbar." 

"  Please  state  all  that  you  know  of  the  prisoner,  and 
of  the  circumstances  which  induced  her  to  visit  X ." 


312 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


"  I  first  saw  the  prisoner  in  August  last,  when 
she  summoned  me  to  see  her  mother,  who  was  suf 
fering  from  an  attack  of  fever.  I  discovered  that 
she  was  in  a  dangerous  condition  in  consequence  ol 
an  aneurism  located  in  the  carotid  artery,  and  when 
she  had  been  relieved  of  malarial  fever,  I  told  both 
mother  and  daughter  that  an  operation  was  ne 
cessary,  to  remove  the  aneurism.  Soon  after,  I  left  the 
city  for  a  month,  and  on  my  return  the  daughter  again 
called  me  in.  I  advised  that  without  delay  the  patient 
should  be  removed  to  the  hospital,  where  a  surgeon— 
a  specialist — could  perform  the  operation.  To  this  the 
young  lady  objected,  on  the  ground  that  she  could  not 
assist  in  nursing,  if  her  mother  entered  the  hospital ; 
and  she  would  not  consent  to  the  separation.  She 
asked  what  amount  would  be  required  to  secure  at  home 
the  services  of  the  surgeon,  a  trained  nurse,  and  the  sub 
sequent  treatment ;  and  I  told  her  I  thought  a  hun 
dred  dollars  would  cover  all  incidentals,  and  secure  one 
of  the  most  skilful  surgeons  in  the  city.  I  continued 
from  time  to  time  to  see  the  mother,  and  administered 
such  medicines  as  I  deemed  necessary  to  invigorate  and 
tone  up  the  patient's  system  for  the  operation.  One 
day  in  October,  the  young  lady  came  to  pay  me  for 
some  prescriptions,  and  asked  if  a  few  weeks'  delay 
would  enhance  the  danger  of  the  operation.  I  assured 
her  it  was  important  to  lose  no  time,  and  urged  her  to 
arrange  matters  so  as  to  remove  the  patient  to  the 
hospital  as  soon  as  possible,  offering  to  procure  her  ad 
mission.  She  showed  great  distress,  and  informed  me 
that  she  hoped  to  receive  very  soon  a  considerable  sum 
of  money,  from  some  artistic  designs  that  she  felt  sure 
would  secure  the  prize.  A  week  later  she  came  again, 
and  I  gave  her  a  prescription  to  allay  her  mother's 
nervousness.  Then,  with  much  agitation,  she  told  me 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  313 

that  she  was  going-  South  by  the  night  express,  to 
seek  assistance  from  her  mother's  father,  who  was  a 
man  of  wealth,  "but  had  disowned  Mrs.  Brentano  on  ac 
count  of  her  marriage.  She  asked  for  a  written  state 
ment  of  the  patient's  condition,  and  the  absolute  neces 
sity  of  the  operation.  I  wrote  it,  and  as  she  stood 
looking  at  the  paper,  she  said  : 

"  '  Doctor  do  you  believe  in  an  Almung  ?  '  I  said, 
'  A  what  ?'  She  answered  slowly  and  solemnly  :  ' An 
Ahnung — a  presentiment?  I  have  a  crushing  pre 
sentiment  that  trouble  will  come  to  me,  if  I  leave  moth 
er;  and  yet  she  entreats,  commands  me  to  go  South. 
It  is  my  duty  to  obey  her,  but  the  errand  is  so  humili« 
ating  I  shrink,  I  dread  it.  I  shall  not  be  long  away, 
and  meanwhile  do  please  be  so  kind  as  to  see  her,  and 
cheer  her  up.  If  her  father  refuses  to  give  me  the  one 
hundred  dollars,  I  will  take  her  to  the  hospital  when 
I  return.'  I  walked  to  the  door  with  her,  and  her  last 
words  were :  '  Doctor,  I  trust  my  mother  to  you ; 
don't  let  her  suffer.'  I  have  never  seen  her  again, 
until  I  entered  this  room.  I  visited  Mrs.  Brentano 
several  times,  but  she  grew  worse  very  rapidly.  One 
night  the  ensuing  week,  my  bell  was  rung  at  twelve 
o'clock,  and  a  woman  gave  me  this  note,  which  was 
written  by  the  prisoner  immediately  after  her  arrest, 
and  which  enclosed  a  second,  addressed  to  her  mother." 

As  he  read  aloud  the  concluding  lines  invoking  the 
mother's  prayers,  the  doctor's  voice  trembled.  He 
took  off  his  spectacles,  wiped  them,  and  resumed  : 

"  I  was  skocked  and  distressed  beyond  expression, 
for  I  could  no  more  connect  the  idea  of  crime  with  that 
beautiful,  noble  souled  girl,  than  with  my  own  sinless 
daughter ;  and  I  reproached  myself  then,  and  doubly 
condemn  myself  now,  that  I  did  not  lend  her  the 
money.  All  that  was  possible  to  alleviate  the  suffer- 


314:  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

ing  of  that  mother,  I  did  most  faithfully.  Under  my 
personal  superintendence  she  was  made  comfortable  in 
the  hospital ;  and  I  stood  by  her  side  when  Doctor  — 
operated  on  the  aneurism  ;  but  her  impaired  constitu 
tion  could  not  bear  the  strain,  and  she  sank  rapidly. 
She  was  delirious,  and  never  knew  why  her  daughter 
was  detained ;  because  I  withheld  the  note.  Just  be 
fore  the  end  came,  her  mind  cleared,  and  she  wrote  a 
few  lines  which  I  sent  to  the  prisoner.  From  all  that 
I  know  of  Miss  Brentano,  I  feel  constrained  to  say,  she 
impressed  me  as  one  of  the  purest,  noblest  and  most 
admirable  characters  I  have  ever  met.  She  supported 
her  mother  and  herself  by  her  pencil,  and  a  more  re 
fined,  sensitive  woman,  a  more  tenderly  devoted 
daughter  I  have  yet  to  meet." 

"Does  your  acquaintance  with  the  family  suggest  any 
third  party,  who  would  be  interested  in  Gen'l  Darring- 
ton's  will,  or  become  a  beneficiary  by  its  destruction  ?" 

' '  No.  They  seemed  very  isolated  people  ;  those  two 
women  lived  without  any  acquaintances,  as  far  as  I 
know,  and  appeared  proudly  indifferent  to  the  outside 
world.  I  do  not  think  they  had  any  relatives,  and 
the  only  name  I  heard  Mrs.  Brentano  utter  in  her  last 
illness  was,  '  Ignace, — Ignace.'  She  often  spoke  of 
her  '  darling,'  and  her  '  good  little  girl'." 

"  Did  you  see  a  gentleman  who  visited  the  prisoner  ? 
Did  you  ever  hear  she  had  a  lover  ?" 

"  I  neither  saw  any  gentleman,  nor  heard  she  had  a 
lover.  In  January,  I  received  a  letter  from  the  pris 
oner  enclosing  an  order  on  S—  -  &  E ,  photo 
graphers  of  New  York,  for  the  amount  due  her,  on  a 
certain  design  for  a  Christmas  card,  which  had  re 
ceived  the  Boston  first  prize  of  three  hundred  dollars. 
With  the  permission  of  the  Court,  I  should  like  to  read 
it.  There  is  no  objection  ?" 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  315 

"  PENITENTIARY  CELL,  JANUARY  STH. 
"  In  the  name  of  my  dead,  whom  I  shall  soon  join— I 
desire  to  thank  you,  dear  Doctor  Grantlin,  for  your 
kind  care  of  my  darling- ;  and  especially  for  your  deli 
cate  and  tender  regard  for  all  that  remains  on  earth 
of  my  precious  mother.  The  knowledge  that  she  was 
treated  with  the  reverence  due  to  a  lady,  that  she  was 
buried — not  as  a  pauper,  but  sleeps  her  last  sleep  under 
the  same  marble  roof  that  shelters  your  dear  departed 
ones,  is  the  one  ray  of  comfort  that  can  ever  pierce  the 
awful  gloom  that  has  settled  like  a  pall  over  me.  I  am 
to  be  tried  soon  for  the  black  and  horrible  crime 
I  never  committed ;  and  the  evidence  is  so  strong  against 
me,  the  circumstances  I  cannot  explain,  are  so  accusing, 
the  belief  of  my  guilt  is  so  general  in  this  commu 
nity,  that  I  have  no  hope  of  acquittal ;  therefore  I 
make  my  preparations  for  death.  Please  collect  the 
money  for  which  I  enclose  an  order,  and  out  of  it,  take 
the  amount  you  spent  when  mother  died.  It  will  com 
fort  me  to  know,  that  we  do  not  owe  a  stranger  for  the 
casket  that  shuts  her  away  from  all  grief,  into  the 
blessed  Land  of  Peace.  Keep  the  remainder,  and  when 
you  hear  that  I  am  dead,  unjustly  offered  up  an  inno 
cent  victim  to  appease  justice,  that  must  have  some 
body's  blood  in  expiation,  then  take  my  body  and 
mother's  and  have  us  laid  side  by  side  in  the  Potter's 
field.  The  law  will  crush  my  body,  but  it  is  pure  and 
free  from  every  crime,  and  it  will  be  worthy  still  to 
touch  my  mother's  in  a  common  grave.  Oh,  Doctor  ! 
Does  it  not  seem  that  some  terrible  curse  has  pursued 
me ;  and  that  the  three  hundred  dollars  I  toiled  and 
prayed  for,  was  kept  back  ten  days  too  late  to  save  me  ? 
My  Christmas  card  will  at  least  bury  us  decently — away 
from  the  world  that  trampled  me  down.  Do  not  doubt 
my  innocence,  and  it  will  comfort  me  to  feel  that  he 
who  closed  my  mother's  eyes,  believes  that  her  un 
fortunate  child  is  guiltless  and  unstained.  In  life,  and 
in  death,  ever 

"  Most  gratefully  your  debtor, 

""BERYL  BRENTANO. 

A  few  moments  of  profound  silence  ensued;  then 


316 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


Doctor  Grantlin  handed  some  article  to  Mr.  Dunbar, 
and  stepping-  down  from  the  stand,  walked  toward  the 
prisoner. 

She  had  covered  her  face  with  her  hands,  while  he 
gave  his  testimony ;  striving-  to  hide  the  anguish  that 
his  presence  revived.  He  placed  his  hand  on  her 
shoulder,  and  whispered  brokenly  : 

"  My  child,  I  know  you  are  innocent.  Would  to  God 
I  could  help  you  to  prove  it  to  these  people  !" 

The  terrible  strain  gave  way  suddenly,  her  proud 
head  was  laid  against  his  arm,  and  suppressed  emotion 
shook  her,  as  a  December  storm  smites  and  bows  some 
shivering  weed. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

T7  RID  AY,  the  fifth  and  last  day  of  the  trial,  was 
•*-  ushered  in  by  a  tempest  of  wind  and  rain,  that 
drove  the  blinding  sheets  of  sleet  against  the  court 
house  windows  with  the  insistence  of  an  icy  flail ; 
while  now  and  then  with  spasmodic  bursts  of  fury  the 
gale  heightened,  rattled  the  sash,  moaned  hysterically, 
like  invisible  fiends  tearing  at  the  obstacles  that 
barred  entrance.  So  dense  was  the  gloom  pervading 
the  court-room,  that  every  gas  jet  was  burning  at  ten 
o'clock,  when  Mr.  Dunbar  rose  and  took  a  position  close 
to  the  jury-box.  The  gray  pallor  of  his  sternly  set 
face  increased  his  resemblance  to  a  statue  of  the 
Julian  type,  and  he  looked  rigid  as  granite,  as  he 
turned  his  brilliant  eyes  full  of  blue  fire  upon  the 
grave,  upturned  countenances  of  the  twelve  umpires  : 
"  Gentlemen  of  the  Jury  :  The  sanctity  of  human 
life  is  the  foundation  on  which  society  rests,  and  its 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  317 

preservation  is  the  supreme  aim  of  all  human 
legislation.  Rights  of  property,  of  liberty,  are  merely 
conditional,  subordinated  to  the  superlative,  divine 
right  of  life.  Labor  creates  property,  law  secures 
liberty,  but  God  alone  gives  life ;  and  woe  to  that 
tribunal,  to  those  consecrated  priests  of  divine  justice, 
who,  sworn  to  lay  aside  passion  and  prejudice,  and  to 
array  themselves  in  the  immaculate  robes  of  a  juror's 
impartiality,  yet  profane  the  loftiest  prerogative  with 
which  civilized  society  can  invest  mankind,  and 
sacrilegiously  extinguish,  in  the  name  of  justice,  that 
sacred  spark  which  only  Jehovah's  fiat  kindles.  To 
the  same  astute  and  unchanging  race,  whose  relentless 
code  of  jurisprudence  demanded  l  an  eye  for  an  eye,  a 
tooth  for  a  tooth,  a  life  for  a  life,'  we  owe  the  instruc 
tive  picture  of  cautious  inquiry,  of  tender  solicitude  for 
the  inviolability  of  human  life,  that  glows  in  immortal 
lustre  on  the  pages  of  the  '  MecJiilta  '  of  the  Talmud. 
In  the  trial  of  a  Hebrew  criminal,  there  were  'Lactees,9 
consisting  of  two  men,  one  of  whom  stood  at  the  door 
of  the  court,  with  a  red  flag  in  his  hand,  and  the  other 
sat  on  a  white  horse  at  some  distance  on  the  road 
that  led  to  execution.  Each  of  these  men  cried  aloud 
continually,  the  name  of  the  suspected  criminal,  of  the 
witnesses,  and  his  crime ;  and  vehemently  called  upon 
any  person  who  knew  anything  in  his  favor  to  come 
forward  and  testify.  Have  we,  supercilious  braggarts 
of  this  age  of  progress,  attained  the  prudential  wisdom 
of  Sanhedrim  ? 

"  The  State  pays  an  officer  to  sift,  probe,  collect  and 
array  the  evidences  of  crime,  with  which  the  criminal 
is  stoned  to  death ;  does  it  likewise  commission  and 
compensate  an  equally  painstaking,  lynx-eyed  official 
whose  sole  duty  is  to  hunt  and  proclaim  proofs  of  the 
innocence  of  the  accused  ?  The  great  body  of  the 


318  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

commonwealth  is  committed  in  revengeful  zeal  to 
prosecution ;  upon  whom  devolves  the  doubly  sacred 
and  imperative  duty  of  defence  ?  Are  you  not  here  to 
give  judgment  in  a  cause  based  on  an  indictment  by  a 
secret  tribunal,  where  ex  parte  testimony  was  alone 
received,  and  the  voice  of  defence  could  not  be  heard  ? 
The  law  infers  that  the  keen  instinct  of  self-preserva 
tion  will  force  the  accused  to  secure  the  strongest 
possible  legal  defenders;  and  failing  in  this,  the  law 
perfunctorily  assigns  counsel  to  present  testimony  in 
defence.  Do  the  scales  balance  ? 

"  Imagine  a  race  for  heavy  stakes ;  the  judges  tap 
the  bell ;  three  or  four  superb  thoroughbreds  carefully 
trained  on  that  track,  laboriously  groomed,  waiting 
for  the  signal,  spring  forward ;  and  when  the  first 
quarter  is  reached,  a  belated  fifth,  handicapped  with  the 
knowledge  that  he  has  made  a  desperately  bad  start, 
bounds  after  them.  If  by  dint  of  some  superhuman 
grace  vouchsafed,  some  latent  strain,  some  most 
unexpected  speed,  he  nears,  overtakes,  runs  neck  and 
neck,  slowly  gains,  passes  all  four  and  dashes  breath 
less  and  quivering  under  the  string,  a  whole  length 
ahead,  the  world  of  spectators  shouts,  the  judges 
smile,  and  number  five  wins  the  stakes.  But  was  the 
race  fair? 

"  Is  not  justice,  the  beloved  goddess  of  our  idolatry, 
sometimes  so  blinded  by  clouds  of  argument,  and  con 
fused  by  clamor  that  she  fails  indeed  to  see  the  dip  of 
the  beam  ?  If  the  accused  be  guilty  and  escape  con 
viction,  he  still  lives ;  and  while  it  is  provided  that  no 
one  can  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  his  life  for  the 
same  offence,  vicious  tendencies  impel  to  renewal  of 
crime,  and  Nemesis,  the  retriever  of  justice,  may 
yet  hunt  him  down.  If  the  accused  be  innocent  as  the 
archangels,  but  suffer  conviction  and  execution,  what 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  319 

expiation  can  justice  offer  for  judicially  slaughtering 
him  ?    Are  the  chances  even  ? 

"  All  along  the  dim  vista  of  the  annals  of  criminal 
jurisprudence,  stand  grim  memorials  that  mark  the 
substitution  of  innocent  victims  for  guilty  criminals  ; 
and  they  are  solemn  sign-posts  of  warning,  melan 
choly  as  the  whitening  bones  of  perished  caravans  in 
desert  sands.  History  relates,  and  tradition  embalms, 
a  sad  incident  of  the  era  of  the  Council  of  Ten,  when  an 
innocent  boy  was  seized,  tried  and  executed  for  the 
murder  of  a  nobleman,  whose  real  assassin  confessed 
the  crime  many  years  subsequent.  In  commemoration 
of  the  public  horror  manifested, when  the  truth  was  pub 
lished,  Venice  decreed  that  henceforth  a  crier  should 
proclaim  in  the  Tribunal  just  before  a  death  sentence 
was  pronounced,  '  Ricordatevi  del  povero  Marco- 
lini!  remember  the  poor  Marcolini ;'  beware  of  merely 
circumstantial  evidence. 

"  To  another  instance  I  invite  your  attention.  A 
devoted  Scotch  father  finding  that  his  only  child  had 
contracted  an  unfortunate  attachment  to  a  man  of 
notoriously  bad  character,  interdicted  all  communica 
tion,  and  locked  his  daughter  into  a  tenement  room ; 
the  adjoining  apartment  (with  only  a  thin  partition 
wall  between)  being  occupied  by  a  neighbor,  who 
overheard  the  angry  altercation  that  ensued.  He  re 
cognized  the  voices  of  father  and  daughter,  and  the 
words  '  barbarity,'  'cruelty,'  'death,'  were  repeatedly 
heard.  The  father  at  last  left  the  room,  locking  his 
child  in  as  a  prisoner.  After  a  time,  strange  noises 
were  heard  by  the  tenant  of  the  adjoining  chamber; 
suspicion  was  aroused,  a  bailiff  was  summoned,  the 
door  forced  open,  and  there  lay  the  dying  girl  welter 
ing  in  blood,  with  the  fatal  knife  lying  near.  She 
was  asked  if  her  father  had  caused  her  sad  condition, 


320  AT  THE  MERCY   OP  TIBERIUS. 

and  she  made  an  affirmative  gesture  and  expired.  At 
that  moment  the  father  returned,  and  stood  stupefied 
with  horror,  which  was  interpreted  as  a  consciousness 
of  guilt ;  and  this  was  corroborated  hy  the  fact  that 
his  shirt  sleeve  was  sprinkled  with  blood.  In  vain  he 
asserted  his  innocence,  and  showed  that  the  blood 
stains  were  the  result  of  a  bandage  having  become  un 
tied  where  he  had  bled  himself  a  few  days  before.  The 
words  and  groans  overheard,  the  blood,  the  affirmation 
of  the  dying  woman,  every  damning  circumstance 
constrained  the  jury  to  convict  him  of  the  murder. 
He  was  hung  in  chains,  and  his  body  left  swinging 
from  the  gibbet.  The  new  tenant,  who  subsequently 
rented  the  room,  was  ransacking  the  chamber  in 
which  the  girl  died,  when,  in  a  cavity  of  the  chimney 
where  it  had  fallen  unnoticed,  was  found  a  paper  writ 
ten  by  this  girl,  declaring  her  intention  to  commit 
suicide,  and  closing  with  the  words :  '  My  inhuman 
father  is  the  cause  of  my  death ' ;  thus  explaining  her 
dying  gestures.  On  examination  of  this  document  by 
the  friends  and  relatives  of  the  girl,  it  was  recognized 
and  identified  as  her  handwriting ;  and  it  established 
the  fact  that  the  father  had  died  innocent  of  every 
crime,  except  that  of  trying  to  save  his  child  from  a 
degrading  marriage. 

"  Now,  mark  the  prompt  and  satisfactory  repara 
tion,  decreed  by  justice,  and  carried  out  by  the  officers 
of  the  law.  The  shrivelled,  dishonored  body  was 
lowered  from  the  gibbet,  given  to  his  relatives  for 
decent  burial,  and  the  magistrates  who  sentenced  him, 
ordered  a  flag  waved  over  his  grave,  as  compensation 
for  all  his  wrongs. 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  to  save  you  from  the  com- 
aiission  of  a  wrong  even  more  cruel,  I  come  to-day  to 
set  before  you  clearly  the  facts,  elicited  from  witnesses 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  3521 

which  the  honorable  and  able  counsel  for  the  prosecu 
tion  declined  to  cross-examine.  An  able  expounder  of 
the  law  of  evidence  has  warned  us  that :  *  The  force 
of  circumstantial  evidence  being  exclusive  in  its  nature, 
and  the  mere  coincidence  of  the  hypothesis  with  the 
circumstances,  being-,  in  the  abstract,  insufficient,  un 
less  they  exclude  every  other  supposition,  it  is  essen 
tial  to  inquire,  with  the  most  scrupulous  attention, 
what  other  hypotheses  there  may  be,  agreeing  wholly 
or  partially  with  the  facts  in  evidence.' 

"A  man  of  very  marked  appearance  was  seen  running 
toward  the  railroad,  on  the  night  of  the  twenty-sixth, 
evidently  goaded  by  some  unusual  necessity  to  leave 

the  neighborhood  of  X before  the  arrival  of  the 

passenger  express.  It  is  proved  that  he  passed  the 
station  exactly  at  the  time  the  prisoner  deposed  she 
heard  the  voice,  and  the  half  of  the  envelope  that  en 
closed  the  missing  will,  was  found  at  the  spot  where 
the  same  person  was  seen,  only  a  few  moments  later. 
Four  days  afterward,  this  man  entered  a  small  station 
in  Pennsylvania,  paid  for  a  railroad  ticket,  with  a  coin 
identical  in  value  and  appearance  with  those  stolen 
from  the  tin  box,  and  as  if  foreordained  to  publish  the 
steps  he  was  striving  to  efface,  accidentally  left  behind 
him  the  trumpet-tongued  fragment  of  envelope,  that 
exactly  fitted  into  the  torn  strip  dropped  at  the  bridge. 
The  most  exhaustive  and  diligent  search  shows  that 

stranger  was  seen  by  no  one  else  in  X ;  that  he 

came  as  a  thief  in  the  night,  provided  with  chloroform 
to  drug  his  intended  victim,  and  having  been  detected 
in  the  act  of  burglariously  abstracting  the  contents  of 
the  tin  box,  fought  with,  and  killed  the  venerable  old 
man,  whom  he  had  robbed 

"  Under  cover  of  storm  and  darkness  he  escaped 
with  his  plunder,  to  some  point  no-th  of  X where 


322  AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS, 

doubtless  he  boarded  (unperceived)  the  freight  train, 
and  at  some  convenient  point  slipped  into  a  wooded 
country,  and  made  his  way  to  Pennsylvania.  Why 
were  valuable  bonds  untouched  ?  Because  they  might 
aid  in  betraying-  him.  What  conceivable  interest  had 
he  in  the  destruction  of  Gen'l  Darrington's  will  ?  It- 
is  in  evidence,  that  the  lamp  was  burning,  and  the 
contents  of  that  envelope  could  have  possessed  no 
-value  for  a  man  ignorant  of  the  provisions  of  the  will ; 
and  the  superscription  it  was  impossible  to  misread. 
Suppose  that  this  mysterious  person  was  fully  cogni 
zant  of  the  family  secrets  of  the  Darringtons  ?  Suppose 
that  he  knew  that  Mrs.  Brentano  and  her  daughter 
would  inherit  a  large  fortune,  if  Gen'l  Darrington  died 
intestate  ?  If  he  had  wooed  and  won  the  heart  of  the 
daughter,  and  believed  that  her  rights  had  been  sacri 
ficed  to  promote  the  aggrandizement  of  an  alien,  the 
adopted  step-son  Prince,  had  not  such  a  man,  the  ac 
cepted  lover  of  the  daughter,  a  personal  interest  in  the 
provisions  of  a  will  which  disinherited  Mrs.  Brentano, 
and  her  child  ?  Have  you  not  now,  motive,  means, 
and  opportunity,  and  links  of  evidence  that  point  to 
this  man  as  the  real  agent,  the  guilty  author  of  the 
awful  crime  we  are  all  leagued  in  solemn,  legal  cove 
nant  to  punish?  Suppose  that  fully  aware  of  the 

prisoner's  mission  to  X ,  he  had  secretly  followed 

her,  and  supplemented  her  afternoon  visit,  by  the 
fatal  interview  of  the  night?  Doubtless  he  had  in 
tended  escorting  her  home,  but  when  the  frightful 
tragedy  was  completed,  the  curse  of  Cain  drove  him, 
in  terror,  to  instant  flight ;  and  he  sought  safety  in 
western  wilds,  leaving  his  innocent  and  hapless  be 
trothed  to  bear  the  penalty  of  his  crime.  The  hand 
kerchief  used  to  administer  chloroform,  bore  her  in 
itials  ;  was  doubtless  a  souvenir  given  in  days 


AT  THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  323 

by  to  that  unworthy  miscreant,  as  a  token  of  affec 
tion,  by  the  trusting-  woman  he  deserted  in  the  hour 
of  peril.  In  this  solution  of  an  awful  enigma,  is  there 
an  undue  strain  upon  credulity  ;  is  there  any  antagon 
ism  of  facts,  which  the  torn  envelope,  the  pipe,  the 
twenty-dollar  gold  pieces  seen  in  Pennsylvania,  do  not 
reconcile  ? 

"  A  justly  celebrated  writer  on  the  law  of  evidence 
has  wisely  said  :  '  In  criminal  cases,  the  statement 
made  by  the  accused  is  of  essential  importance  in  some 
points  of  view.  Such  is  the  complexity  of  human 
affairs,  and  so  infinite  the  combinations  of  circum 
stances,  that  the  true  hypothesis  which  is  capable  of 
explaining  and  reuniting  all  the  apparently  conflicting1 
circumstances  of  the  case,  may  escape  the  acutest 
penetration :  but  the  prisoner,  so  far  as  he  alone  is 
concerned,  can  always  afford  a  clue  to  them;  and 
though  he  may  be  unable  to  support  his  statement  by 
evidence,  his  account  of  the  transaction  is,  for  this 
purpose,  always  most  material  and  important.  The 
effect  may  be  to  suggest  a  view,  which  consists  with 
the  innocence  of  the  accused,  and  might  otherwise 
have  escaped  observation.' 

"  During  the  preliminary  examination  of  this  pris 
oner  in  October,  she  inadvertently  furnished  this  clue, 
when,  in  explaining  her  absence  from  the  station 
house,  she  stated  that  suddenly  awakened  from  sleep, 
*  she  heard  the  voice  of  one  she  knew  and  loved,  and 
ran  out  to  seek  the  speaker'.  Twice  she  has  repeated 
the  conversation  she  heard,  and  every  word  is  cor 
roborated  by  the  witness  who  saw  and  talked  with  the 
owner  of  that '  beloved  voice'.  When  asked  to  give 
the  name  of  that  man,  whom  she  expected  to  find  in 
the  street,  she  falters,  refuses ;  love  seals  her  lips, 
and  the  fact  that  she  will  die  sooner  than  yield  that 


324  AT  THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

which  must  bring-  him  to  summary  justice,  is  alone 
sufficient  to  fix  the  guilt  upon  the  real  culprit. 

"  There  is  a  rule  in  criminal  jurisprudence,  that 
'presumptive  evidence  ought  never  to  be  relied  on, 
when  direct  testimony  is  wilfully  withheld1.  She 
shudders  at  sight  of  the  handkerchief  ;  did  she  not  give 
it  to  him,  in  some  happy  hour  as  a  tender  Eicordo  ? 
When  the  pipe  which  he  lost  in  his  precipitate  flight  is 
held  up  to  the  jury,  she  recognizes  it  instantly  as  her 
lover's  property,  and  shivers  with  horror  at  the  danger 
of  his  detection  and  apprehension.  Does  not  this  array 
of  accusing  circumstances  demand  as  careful  consider 
ation,  as  the  chain  held  up  to  your  scrutiny  by  the 
prosecution?  In  the  latter,  there  is  an  important 
link  missing,  which  the  theory  of  the  defence  supplies. 
When  the  prisoner  was  arrested  and  searched,  there 
was  found  in  her  possession  only  the  exact  amount  of 
money,  which  it  is  in  evidence,  that  she  came  South  to 
obtain ;  and  which  she  has  solemnly  affirmed  was  given 
to  her  by  Gen'l  Darrington.  We  know  from  memoranda 
found  in  the  rifled  box,  that  it  contained  only  a  few 
days  previous,  five  hundred  dollars  in  gold.  Three 
twenty-dollar  gold  coins  were  discovered  on  the  carpet, 
and  one  in  the  vault ;  what  became  of  the  remaining 
three  hundred  and  twenty  dollars  ?  With  the  exception 
of  one  hundred  dollars  found  in  the  basket  of  the 
prisoner,  she  had  only  five  copper  pennies  in  her  purse, 
when  so  unexpectedly  arrested,  that  it  was  impossible 
she  could  have  secreted  anything.  Three  hundred  and 
twenty  dollars  disappeared  in  company  with  the  will, 
and  like  the  torn  envelope,  two  of  those  gold  coins  lifted 
their  accusing  faces  in  Pennsylvania,  where  the  fugi 
tive  from  righteous  retribution  paid  for  the  wings  that 
would  transport  him  beyond  risk  of  detection, 

"  Both  theories  presented  for  your  careful  analy- 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  325 

lis,  are  based  entirely  upon  circumstantial  evidence ; 
and  is  not  the  solution  I  offer  less  repugnant  to  the 
canons  of  credibility,  and  infinitely  less  revolting  to 
every  instinct  of  honorable  manhood,  than  the  horrible 
hypothesis  that  a  refined,  cultivated,  noble  Christian 
woman,  a  devoted  daughter,  irreproachable  in  antece 
dent  life,  bearing  the  fiery  ordeal  of  the  past  four 
months  with  a  noble  heroism  that  commands  the  invol 
untary  admiration  of  all  who  have  watched  her — that 
such  a  perfect  type  of  beautiful  womanhood  as  the  pris 
oner  presents,  could  deliberately  plan  and  execute  the 
vile  scheme  of  theft  and  murder  ?  Gentlemen,  she  is 
guilty  of  but  one  sin  against  the  peace  and  order  of  this 
community:  the  sin  of  withholding  the  name  of  one  for 
whose  bloody  crime  she  is  not  responsible.  Does  not 
her  invincible  loyalty,  her  unwavering  devotion  to  the 
craven  for  whom  she  suffers,  invest  her  with  the  halo 
of  a  martyrdom,  that  appeals  most  powerfully  to  the 
noblest  impulses  of  your  nature,  that  enlists  the  warm 
est,  holiest  sympathies  lying  deep  in  your  manly 
hearts?  Analyze  her  statement;  every  utterance 
bears  the  stamp  of  innocence ;  and  where  she  cannot  ex 
plain  truthfully,  she  declines  to  make  any  explanation . 
Hers  is  the  sin  of  silence,  the  grievous  evasion  of  jus 
tice  by  non-responsion,  whereby  the  danger  she  will 
not  avert  by  confession  recoils  upon  her  innocent  head. 
Bravelv  she  took  on  her  reluctant  shoulders  the  gall 
ing  burden  of  parental  command,  and  stifling  her 
proud  repugnance,  obediently  came — a  fair  young 
stranger  to  *  Elm  Bluff'.  Receiving  as  a  loan  the 
money  she  came  to  beg  for,  she  hurries  away  to  fulfil 
another  solemnly  imposed  injunction. 

"  Gentlemen,  is  there  any  spot  out  yonder  in  God's 
Acre,  where  violets,  blue  as  the  eyes  that  once  smiled 
upon  you,  now  shed  their  fragrance  above  the  sacred 


32$  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

dust  of  your  dead  darlings  ;  and  the  thought  of  which 
melts  your  hearts  and  dims  your  Vision  ?  Look  at  this 
mournful,  touching1  witness,  which  comes  from  that 
holy  cemetery  to  whisper*  to  your  souls,  that  the  hands 
of  the  prisoner  are  as  pure  as  those  of  your  idols,  fold 
ed  under  the  sod.  Only  a  little  bunch  of  withered 
brown  flowers,  tied  with  a  faded  blue  ribbon,  that  a 
poor  girl  bought  with  her  hard  earned  pennies,  andcar- 
ried  to  a  sick  mother,  to  brighten  a  dreary  attic ;  only 
a  dead  nosegay,  which  that  mother  requested  should 
be  laid  as  a  penitential  tribute  on  the  tomb  of  the 
mother  whom  she  had  disobeyed ;  and  this  faithful 
young  heart  made  the  pilgrimage,  and  left  the  offer 
ing — and  in  consequence  thereof,  missed  the  train  that 
would  have  carried  her  safely  back  to  her  mother — 
and  to  peace.  On  the  morning  after  the  preliminary 
examination  I  went  to  the  cemetery,  and  found  the 
fatal  flowers  just  where  she  had  placed  them,  on  the 
great  marble  cross  that  covers  the  tomb  of  '  Helena 
Tracey— wife  of  Luke  Darrington.' 

"  You  husbands  and  fathers  who  trust  your  names, 
your  honor,  the  peace  of  your  hearts — almost  the  sal 
vation  of  your  souls — to  the  women  you  love  ;  staking 
the  dearest  interest  of  humanity,  the  sanctity  of  that 
heaven  on  earth— your  stainless  homes — upon  the  fidel 
ity  of  womanhood,  can  you  doubt  for  one  instant,  that 
the  prisoner  will  accept  death  rather  than  betray  the 
man  she  loves  ?  No  human  plummet  has  sounded  the 
depths  of  a  woman's  devotion;  no  surveyor's  chain 
will  ever  mark  the  limits  of  a  woman's  faithful,  patient 
endurance ;  and  only  the  wings  of  an  archangel  can 
transcend  that  pinnacle  to  which  the  sublime  prin 
ciple  of  self-sacrifice  exalts  a  woman's  soul. 

"  In  a  quaint  old  city  on  the  banks  of  the  Pegnitz, 
history  records  an  instance  of  feminine  self- abnegation, 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  327 

more  enduring  than  monuments  of  brass.  The  law  had 
decreed  a  certain  provision  for  the  maintenance  of 
orphans ;  and  two  women  in  dire  distress,  seeing-  no 
possible  avenue  of  help,  accused  themselves  falsely  of 
a  capital  crime,  and  were  executed  ;  thereby  securing 
a  support  for  the  children  they  orphaned. 

"  As  a  tireless  and  vigilant  prosecutor  of  the  real 
criminal,  the  Cain-branded  man  now  wandering  in 
some  western  wild,  I  charge  the  prisoner  with  only  one 
sin,  suicidal  silence  ;  and  I  commend  her  to  your  most 
tender  compassion,  believing  that  in  every  detail  and 
minutiae  she  has  spoken  the  truth ;  and  that  she  is  as 
innocent  of  the  charge  in  the  indictment  as  you  or  I. 
Remember  that  you  have  only  presumptive  proof  to 
guide  you  in  this  solemn  deliberation,  and  in  the  ab 
sence  of  direct  proof,  do  not  be  deluded  by  a  glittering 
sophistry,  which  will  soon  attempt  to  persuade  you, 
that:  '  A  presumption  which  necessarily  arises  from  cir 
cumstances,  is  very  often  more  convincing  and  more 
satisfactory  than  any  other  kind  of  evidence  ;  it  is  not 
within  the  reach  and  compass  of  human  abilities  to  in 
vent  a  train  of  circumstances,  which  shall  be  so  con 
nected  together  as  to  amount  to  a  proof  of  guilt,  with 
out  affording  opportunities  of  contradicting  a  great 
part,  if  not  all,  of  these  circumstances.' 

"Believe  it  not ;  circumstantial  evidence  has  caused 
as  much  innocent  blood  to  flow,  as  the  cimeter  of  Jeng- 
hizKhan.  The  counsel  for  the  prosecution  will  tell 
you  that  every  fact  in  this  melancholy  case  stabs  tho 
prisoner,  and  that  facts  cannot  lie.  Abstractly  and 
logically  considered,  facts  certainly  do  not  lie  ;  but  let 
us  see  whether  the  inferences  deduced  from  what  we 
believe  to  be  facts,  do  not  sometimes  eclipse  Ananias 
and  Sapphira  !  Not  long  ago,  the  public  heart  thrilled 
with  horror  at  the  tidings  of  the  Ashtabula  railway 


328  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

catastrophe,  in  which  a  train  of  cars  plunged  through 
a  bridge,  took  fire,  and  a  number  of  passengers  were 
consumed,  charred  beyond  recognition.  Soon  after 
ward,  a  poor  woman,  mother  of  two  children,  com 
menced  suit  against  the  railway  company,  alleging 
that  her  husband  had  perished  in  that  disaster.  The 
evidence  adduced  was  only  of  a  circumstantial  nature, 
as  the  body  which  had  been  destroyed  by  flames,  could 
not  be  found.  Searching  in  the  debris  at  the  fatal 
spot,  she  had  found  a  bunch  of  keys,  that  she  positive 
ly  recognized  as  belonging  to  her  husband,  and  in  his 
possession  when  he  died.  One  key  fitted  the  clock  in 
her  house,  and  a  mechanic  was  ready  to  swear  that  he 
had  made  such  a  key  for  the  deceased.  Another  key 
fitted  a  chest  she  owned,  and  still  another  fitted  the 
door  of  her  house ;  while  strongest  of  all  proof,  she 
found  a  piece  of  cloth  which  she  identified  as  part  of  her 
husband's  coat.  A  physician  who  knew  her  husband, 
testified  that  he  rode  as  far  as  Buffalo  on  the  same 
train  with  the  deceased,  on  the  fatal  day  of  the  disas 
ter  ;  and  another  witness  deposed  that  he  saw  the  de 
ceased  take  the  train  at  Buffalo,  that  w^ent  down  to  ruin 
at  Ashtabula.  Certainly  the  chain  of  circumstantial 
evidence,  from  veracious  facts,  seemed  complete  ;  but 
lo  !  during  the  investigation  it  was  ascertained  beyond 
doubt,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  wife,  that  the  husband 
had  never  been  near  Ashtabula,  and  was  safe  and  well 
at  a  Pension  Home  in  a  Western  State. 

"  The  fate  of  a  very  noble  and  innocent  woman  is 
now  committed  to  your  hands,  and  only  presumptive 
proof  is  laid  before  you.  '  The  circumstance  is  always 
a  fact ;  the  presumption  is  the  inference  drawn  from 
that  fact.  It  is  hence  called  presumptive  proof,  be 
cause  it  proceeds  merely  in  opinion.'  Suffer  no  brilliant 
to  dazzle  your  judgment,  no  remnant  of  pre- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  329 

judice  to  swerve  you  from  the  path  of  fidelity  to  your 
oath.  To  your  calm  reasoning-,  your  generous  manly 
hearts,  your  Christian  consciences,  I  resign  the  desolate 
prisoner ;  and  as  you  deal  with  her,  so  may  the  God 
above  us,  the  just  and  holy  God  who  has  numbered 
the  hairs  of  her  innocent  head,  deal  here  and  hereafter 
with  you  and  yours." 

That  magnetic  influence,  whereby  the  emotions  of  an 
audience  are  swayed,  as  the  tides  that  follow  the  moon, 
was  in  large  measure  the  heritage  of  th«  handsome 
man  who  held  the  eyes  of  the  jurymen  in  an  almost 
unwinking  gaze ;  and  when  his  uplifted  arm  slowly 
fell  to  his  side,  Judge  Dent  grasped  it  in  mute  con 
gratulation,  and  Mr.  Churchill  took  his  hand,  and 
shook  it  warmly. 

Mr.  Wolverton  came  forward  to  sum  up  the  evidence 
for  the  prosecution,  and  laboriously  recapitulated  and 
dwelt  upon  the  mass  of  facts,  which  he  claimed  was 
susceptible  of  but  one  interpretation,  and  must  compel 
the  jury  to  convict,  in  accordance  with  the  indictment. 

Upon  the  ears  of  the  prisoner,  his  words  fell  as  a 
harsh,  meaningless  murmur ;  and  above  the  insistent 
mutter,  rose  and  fell  the  waves  of  a  rich,  resonant  voice, 
that  surrounded,  penetrated,  electrified  her  brain; 
thrilled  her  whole  being  with  a  strange  and  inexplic 
able  sensation  of  happiness.  For  months  she  had 
fought  against  the  singular  fascination  that  dwelt  in 
those  brilliant  blue  eyes,  and  lurked  in  every  line  of 
the  swart,  stern  face;  holding  at  bay  the  magnetic 
attraction  which  he  exerted  from  the  hour  of  the  pre 
liminary  examination.  Of  all  men,  she  had  feared 
him  most,  had  shrunk  from  every  opportunity  of 
contact,  had  execrated  him  as  the  malign  personifica 
tion,  the  veritable  incarnation  of  the  evil  destiny  that 
had  hounded  her  from  the  day  she  first  saw  X . 


330  AT  THE  MEROY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

Listening1  to  his  appeal  for  her  deliverance,  each 
word  throbbing1  with  tlio  fervent  beat  of  a  heart  that 
she  knew  was  all  her  own,  an  exquisite  sense  of  rest 
gradually  stole  over  her;  as  a  long-suffering  child 
spent  with  pain,  sinks,  soothed  at  last  in  the  enfolding 
arms  of  protective  love.  That  dark,  eloquent,  face 
drew,  held  her  gaze  with  the  spell  of  a  loadstone,  and 
oven  in  the  imminence  of  her  jeopardy,  she  recalled 
the  strange  resemblance  he  bore  to  the  militant  angel 
she  had  once  seen  in  a  painting,  where  he  wrestled 
with  Satan  for  possession  of  the  body  of  Moses.  Dis 
grace,  peril,  the  gaunt  spectre  of  death  suddenly  dis 
solved,  vanished  in  the  glorious  burst  of  rosy  light 
that  streamed  into  all  the  chill  chambers  of  her  heart ; 
and  she  bowed  her  head  in  her  hands,  to  hide  the  crim 
son  that  painted  her  cheeks. 

How  long  Mr.  Wolverton  talked,  she  never  knew : 
but  the  lull  that  succeeded  was  broken  by  the  tones  of 
Judge  Parkman. 

"  Beryl  Brentano,  it  is  my  duty  to  remind  you  that 
this  is  the  last  opportunity  the  law  allows  you,  to 
speak  in  your  own  vindication.  The  testimony  has  all 
been  presented  to  those  appointed  to  decide  upon  its 
value.  If  there  be  any  final  statement  that  you  may 
desire  to  olTer  in  self-defence,  you  must  make  it  now." 

Could  the  hundreds  who  watched  and  waited  ever 
forget  the  sight  of  that  superb,  erect  figure,  that  ex 
quisite  face,  proud  as  Hypatia's,  patient  as  Perpetua's  ; 
or  the  sound  of  that  pathetic,  unwavering  voice? 
Mournfully,  yet  steadily,  she  raised  her  great  grey 
eyes,  darkened  by  the  violet  shadows  suffering  had 
cast,  and  looked  at  her  judges. 

"  I  am  guiltless  of  any  and  all  crime.  I  have 
neither  robbed,  nor  murdered  ;  and  I  am  neither  prin 
cipal,  nor  accomplice  in  the  horrible  sin  imputed  to  1110. 


AT  TfflB  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  331 

I  know  nothing1  of  the  chloroform  ;  T  never  touched 
thf  andiron  ;  1  never  saw  Gen'l  Darrington  but.  once. 
He  gave  me  the  gold  and  the  sapphires,  ami  I  am  as 
innocent  of  his  death,  and  of  the  destruction  of  his 
will  as  the  sinless  little  children  who  prattle  at  your 
firesides,  and  nestle  to  sleep  in  your  arms.  My  life 
has  been  disgraced  and  ruined  by  no  act  of  mine,  for  1 
have  kept  my  hands,  my  heart,  my  soul,  as  pure  and 
free  from  crime  as  they  were  when  God  gave  them  to 
me.  I  am  the  helpless  prey  of  suspicion,  and  the 
guiltless  victim  of  the  law.  0,  my  judges  !  1  do 
not  crave  your  mercy — that  is  the  despairing  pra\  or 
of  conscious  guilt ;  I  demand  at  your  hands,  just  ice.  " 

The  rushing  sound  as  of  a  coining  flood  tilled  her  ears, 
and  her  words  echoed  vaguely  from  some  immeas 
urably  distant  height.  The  gaslights  seemed  whirling 
in  a  Walpurgis  maze,  as  she  sat  down  and  once  more 
veiled  her  face  in  her  hands. 

When  she  recovered  sufficiently  to  listen,  Mr. 
Churchill  had  risen  for  the  closing  speech  of  the  pros 
ecution. 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  Jury  :  1  were  a  Mot  upon 
a  noble  profession,  a  disgrace  to  honorable  manhood, 
and  a  monster  in  my  own  estimation,  if  I  could 
approach  the  fatal  Finis  of  this  melancholy  trial, 
without  painful  emotions  of  profound  regret,  that 
the  solemn  responsibility  of  my  official  position  makes 
me  the  reluctant  bearer  of  the  last  stern  message 
uttered  by  retributive  justice.  How  inllnitely  more 
enviable- the  duty  of  the  Amicus  Cur  ice,  my  gallant 
friend  and  quondam  colleague,  who  involuntary  de 
fence  has  so  ingeniously,  eloquently  and  nobly  led  a 
forlorn  hope,  that  he  knew  was  already  irretrievably 
lost?  Desperate,  indeed,  must  he  deem  that  canst: 
for  which  he  battles  so  valiantly,  when  dire  extremity 


332 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


«  « 


goads  him  to  lift  a  rebellious  and  unfilial  voice  against 
the  provisions  of  his  foster-mother,  Criminal  Juris 
prudence,  in  whose  service  he  won  the  brilliant  distinc 
tion  and  crown  of  laurel  that  excite  the  admiration 
and  envy  of  a  large  family  of  his  less  fortunate  foster- 
brothers.  I  honor  his  heroism,  applaud  his  chivalrous 
zeal,  and  wish  that  I  stood  in  his  place ;  but  not  mine 
the  privilege  of  mounting  the  white  horse,  and  wav 
ing  the  red  flag  of  the  'Lactees.'  Dedicated  to  the 
mournful  rites  of  justice,  I  have  laid  an  iron  hand 
on  the  quivering  lips  of  pity,  that  cried  to  me  like  the 
voice  of  one  of  my  own  little  ones  ;  and  very  sorrow 
fully,  at  the  command  of  conscience,  reason  and  my 
official  duty,  I  obey  the  mandate  to  ring  down  the 
black  curtain  on  a  terrible  tragedy,  feeling  like  Dante, 
when  he  confronted  the  doomed — 

'And  to  a  part  I  come,  where  no  light  shines.' 

So  clearly  and  ably  has  my  distinguished  associate, 
Mr.  Wolverton,  presented  all  the  legal  points  bearing 
upon  the  nature  and  value  of  the  proof,  submitted  for 
your  examination,  that  any  attempt  to  buttress  his 
powerful  argument,  were  an  unpardonable  reflection 
upon  your  intelligence,  and  his  skill ;  and  I  shall  con 
fine  my  last  effort  in  behalf  of  justice,  to  a  brief  analy 
sis  and  comparison  of  the  hypothesis  of  the  defence, 
with  the  verified  result  of  the  prosecution. 

"  Beautiful  and  sparkling  as  the  frail  glass  of  Murano, 
and  equally  as  thin,  as  treacherously  brittle,  is  the 
theory  so  skilfully  manufactured  in  behalf  of  the  ac 
cused;  and  so  adroitly  exhibited  that  the  ingenious 
facets  catch  every  possible  gleam,  and  for  a  moment 
almost  dazzle  the  eyes  of  the  beholder.  In  attempt 
ing  to  cast  a  lance  against  the  shield  of  circumstantial 
evidence,  his  weapon  rebounded,  recoiled  upon  his 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  333 

fine  spun  crystal  and  shivered  it.  What  were  the 
materials  wherewith  he  worked  ?  Circumstances, 
strained,  well  nigh  dislocated  by  the  effort  to  force 
them  to  fit  into  his  Procrustean  measure.  A  man  was 
seen  on  the  night  of  the  twenty-sixth,  who  appeared 

unduly  anxious  to   quit  X before  daylight;  and 

again  the  mysterious  stranger  was  see-n  in  a  distant 
town  in  Pennsylvania,  where  he  showed  some  gold  coins 
of  a  certain  denomination,  and  dropped  on  the  floor 
one-half  of  an  envelope,  that  once  contained  a  will.  In 
view  of  these  circumstances  (the  prosecution  calls 
them  facts),  the  counsel  for  the  defence  presumes  that 
said  stranger  committed  the  murder,  stole  the  will ; 
and  offers  this  opinion  as  presumptive  proof  that  the 
prisoner  is  innocent.  The  argument  runs  thus :  this 
man  was  an  accepted  lover  of  the  accused,  and  there 
fore  he  must  have  destroyed  the  will  that  beggared  his 
betrothed ;  but  it  is  nowhere  in  evidence,  that  any 
lover  existed,  outside  of  the  counsel's  imagination  ; 
yet  Asmodeus  like  he  must  appear  when  called  for, 
and  so  we  are  expected  to  infer,  assume,  presume  that 
because  he  stole  the  will  he  must  be  her  lover.  Does 
it  not  make  your  head  swim  to  spin  round  in  this  circle 
of  reasoning?  In  assailing  the  validity  of  circum 
stantial  evidence,  has  he  not  cut  his  bridges,  burned 
his  ships  behind  him  ? 

"  Gentlemen,  fain  would  I  seize  this  theory  were  it 
credible,  and  setting  thereon,  as  in  an  ark,  this  most 
unfortunate  prisoner,  float  her  safely  through  the 
deluge  of  ruin,  anchor  her  in  peaceful  security  upon 
some  far-off  Ararat ;  but  it  has  gone  to  pieces  in  the 
hands  of  its  architect.  Instead  of  rescuing  the  drown 
ing1,  the  wreck  serves  only  to  beat  her  down.  If  we 
accept  the  hypothesis  of  a  lover  at  all,  it  will  furnish 
the  one  missing  link  in  the  terrible  chain  that  clanks 


334 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


around  the  luckless  prisoner.  The  disappearance  of 
the  three  hundred  and  twenty  dollars  has  sorely  per 
plexed  the  prosecution,  and  unexpectedly  the  defence 
offers  us  the  one  circumstance  we  lacked ;  the  lover 
was  lurking  in  the  neighborhood,  to  learn  the  result 
of  the  visit,  to  escort  her  home ;  and  to  him  the  pris 
oner  gave  the  missing  gold,  to  him  intrusted  the  de 
struction  of  the  will.  If  that  man  came  to  *  Elm  Bluff ' 
prepared  to  rob  and  murder,  by  whom  was  he  incited 
and  instigated ;  and  who  was  the  accessory,  and  there 
fore  particeps  criminis  ?  The  prisoner's  handkerchief 
was  the  medium  of  chloroforming  that  venerable  old 
man,  and  can  there  be  a  reasonable  doubt  that  she 
aided  in  administering  it  ? 

"  The  prosecution  could  not  explain  why  she  came 
from  the  direction  of  the  railroad  bridge,  which  was 
far  out  of  her  way  from  f  Elm  Bluff ';  but  the  de 
fence  gives  the  most  satisfactory  solution :  she  was 
there,  dividing  her  blood-stained  spoils  with  the  equal 
ly  guilty  accomplice — her  lover.  The  prosecution 
brings  to  the  bar  of  retribution  only  one  criminal ;  the 
defence  not  only  fastens  the  guilt  upon  this  unhappy 
woman,  by  supplying  the  missing  links,  but  proves 
premeditation,  by  the  person  of  an  accomplice.  Four 
months  have  been  spent  in  hunting  some  fact  that 
would  tend  to  exculpate  the  accused,  but  each  circum 
stance  dragged  to  light  serves  only  to  swell  the  dismal 
chorus,  '  Woe  to  the  guilty'.  To-day  she  sits  in  the 
ashes  of  desolation,  condemned  by  the  unanimous  evi 
dence  of  every  known  fact  connected  with  this  awful 
tragedy.  To  oppose  this  black  and  frightful  host  of 
proofs,  what  does  she  offer  us  ?  Simply  her  bare,  sol 
emnly  reiterated  denial  of  guilt.  We  hold  our  breath, 
hoping  against  hope  that  she  will  give  some  explana 
tion,  some  solution,  that  our  pitying  hearts  are  wait- 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  335 

ing  so  eagerly  to  hear-  but  dumb  as  the  Sphinx,  she 
awaits  her  doom.  You  will  weigh  that  bare  denial  in 
the  scale  with  the  evidence,  and  in  this  momentous 
duty  recollect  the  cautious  admonition  that  has  been 
furnished  to  guide  you :  '  Conceding  that  assevera 
tions  of  innocence  are  always  deserving  of  considera 
tion  by  the  executive,  what  is  there  to  invest  them 
with  a  conclusive  efficacy,  in  opposition  to  a  chain  of 
presumptive  evidence,  the  force  and  weight  of  which 
falls  short  only  of  mathematical  demonstration  ?'  The 
astute  and  eloquent  counsel  for  defence,  has  cited  some 
well-known  cases,  to  shake  your  faith  in  the  value  of 
merely  presumptive  proof. 

"  I  offer  for  your  consideration,  an  instance  of  the 
fallibility  of  merely  bare,  unsupported  denial  of  guilt, 
on  the  part  of  the  accused.  A  priest  at  Lauterbach 
was  suspected,  arrested  and  tried  for  the  murder  of  a 
woman,  under  very  aggravated  circumstances.  He 
was  subjected  to  eighty  examinations  ;  and  each  time 
solemnly  denied  the  crime.  Even  when  confronted  at 
midnight  with  the  skull  of  the  victim  murdered  eight 
years  before,  he  vehemently  protested  his  innocence ; 
called  on  the  skull  to  declare  him  not  the  assassin,  and 
appealed  to  the  Holy  Trinity  to  proclaim  his  innocence. 
Finally  he  confessed  his  crime  ;  testified  that  while 
cutting  the  throat  of  his  victim,  he  had  exhorted  her 
to  repentance,  had  given  her  absolution,  and  that  hav 
ing  concealed  the  corpse,  he  had  said  masses  for  her 
soul. 

"The  forlorn  and  hopeless  condition  of  the  prisoner 
at  this  bar,  appeals  pathetically  to  that  compassion 
which  we  are  taught  to  believe  coexists  with  justice, 
even  in  the  omnipotent  God  we  worship ;  yet  in  the 
face  of  incontrovertible  facts  elicited  from  reliable  wit 
nesses,  of  coincidences  which  no  theory  of  accident 


336 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


can  explain,  can  we  stifle  convictions,  solely  becaus« 
she  pleads  'not  guilty  '?     Pertinent,  indeed,  was  the 
ringing  cry  of  that  ancient  prosecutor  :     '  Most  illus 
trious  Ciesar !   if  denial  of  guilt  be  sufficient  defence, 
who  would  ever  be  convicted  ? '  You  have  been  assured 
that  inferences  drawn  from  probable  facts  eclipse  the 
stupendous  falsehood  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira !    Then 
the  same  family  strain  inevitably  crops  out,  in  the 
loosely-woven  web  of  defensive  presumptive  evidence — 
whose  pedigree  we  trace  to  the  same  parentage.     God 
forbid  that  I  should  commit  the  sacrilege  of  arrogating 
His  divine  attribute — infallibility — for  any  human  au 
thority,  however  exalted ;  or  claim  it  for  any  amount  of 
proof,  presumptive  or  positive.     '  It  is  because  human 
ity  even  when  most  cautious  and  discriminating  is  so 
mournfully  fallible  and  prone  to  error,  that  in  judging 
its  own  frailty,  we  require  the  aid  and  reverently  in 
voke  the  guidance  of  Jehovah.'     In  your  solemn  delib 
erations  bear  in  mind  this  epitome  of  an  opinion,  en- 
titled  to  more  than  a  passing  consideration  :   '  Perhapa 
strong  circumstantial  evidence  in  cases  of  crime,  com 
mitted  for  the  most  part  in  secret,  is  the  most  satisfac 
tory  of  any  from  whence  to  draw  the  conclusion   of 
guilt;  for  men  may  be  seduced  to  perjury,  by  many 
base  motives;  but  it  can  scarcely  happen  that  many 
circumstances,  especially  if  they  be  such  over  which 
the  accuser  could  have  no  control,  forming  altogether 
the  links  of  a  transaction,  should  all  unfortunately  con 
cur  to  fix  the  presumption  of  guilt  on  an  individual 
and  yet  such  a  conclusion  be  erroneous.' 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  jury:  the  prosecution  believes 
that  the  overwhelming  mass  of  evidence  laid  before 
you  proves,  beyond  a  reasonable  doubt,  that  the 
prisoner  did  premeditatedl,y  murder  and  rob  Robert 
Luke  Darrmgton  j  and  in  the  name  of  justice,  we  de- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  S&7 

mand  that  you  vindicate  the  majesty  of  outraged 
law,  by  rendering  a  verdict  of  '  guilty  '.  All  the  evi 
dence  in  this  case  points  the  finger  of  doom  at  the 
prisoner,  as  to  the  time,  the  place,  the  opportunity, 
the  means,  the  conduct  and  the  motive.  Suffer  not 
sympathy  for  youthful  womanhood  and  wonderful 
beauty,  to  make  you  recreant  to  the  obligations  of 
your  oath,  to  decide  this  issue  of  life  or  death,  strictly 
'n  accordance  with  the  proofs  presented  ;  and  bitterly 
painful  as  is  your  impending  duty,  do  not  allow  the 
wail  of  pity  to  drown  the  demands  of  justice,  or  the 
voice  of  that  blood  that  cries  to  heaven  for  ven 
geance  upon  the  murderess.  May  the  righteous 
God  who  rules  the  destinies  of  the  universe  guide 
you,  and  enable  you  to  perform  faithfully  your  awful 
duty." 

Painfully  solemn  was  tne  profound  silence  that  per 
vaded  the  court-room,  and  the  eyes  of  the  multitude 
turned  anxiously  to  the  grave  countenance  of  the 
Judge.  Mr.  Dunbar  had  seated  himself  at  a  small 
table,  not  far  from  Beryl,  and  resting  his  elbow  upon 
it,  leaned  his  right  temple  in  the  palm  of  his  hand, 
watching  from  beneath  his  contracted  black  brows  the 
earnest,  expectant  faces  of  the  jurymen  ;  and  his  keen, 
glowing  eyes  indexed  little  of  the  fierce,  wolfish  pangs 
that  gnawed  ceaselessly  at  his  heart,  as  the  intoler 
able  suspense  drew  near  its  end. 

Judge  Parkman  leaned  forward. 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  jury :  before  entering  that  box, 
as  the  appointed  ministers  of  justice,  to  arbitrate  upon 
the  most  momentous  issue  that  can  engage  human 
attention — the  life  or  death  of  a  fellow  creature — you 
called  your  Maker  to  witness  that  you  would  divest 
your  minds  of  every  shadow  of  prejudice,  would  calm 
ly,  carefully,  dispassionately  consider,  analyze  and 


358  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

weigh  the  evidence  submitted  for  your  investigation  ; 
and  irrespective  of  consequences,  render  a  verdict  in 
strict  accordance  with  the  proofs  presented .  You  have 
listened  to  the  testimony  of  the  witnesses,  to  the  the 
ory  of  the  prosecution,  to  the  theory  of  the  counsel  for 
the  defence  ;  you  have  heard  the  statement  of  the 
accused,  her  repeated  denial  of  the  crime  with  which 
she  stands  charged ;  and  finally  you  have  heard  the 
arguments  of  counsel,  the  summing  up  of  all  the  evi 
dence.  The  peculiar  character  of  some  of  the  facts 
presented  as  proof,  requires  on  your  part  the  keenest 
and  most  exhaustive  analysis  of  the  inferences  to  be 
drawn  from  them,  and  you ( have  need  of  patience,  wis 
dom  and  courage'.  While  it  is  impossible  that  you  can 
contemplate  the  distressing  condition  of  the  accused 
without  emotions  of  profound  compassion,  your  duty 
'  is  prescribed  by  the  law,  which  allows  you  no  liberty 
fco  indulge  any  sentiment,  inconsistent  with  its  strict 
(performance*.  You  should  begin  with  the  legal  pre 
sumption  that  the  prisoner  is  innocent,  and  that  pre 
sumption  must  continue,  until  her  guilt  is  satisfactor 
ily  proved.  This  is  the  legal  right  of  the  prisoner; 
contingent  on  no  peculiar  circumstances  of  any  par 
ticular  case,  but  is  the  common  right  of  every  person 
accused  of  a  crime.  The  law  surrounds  the  prisoner 
with  a  coat  of  mail,  that  only  irrefragable  proofs  of 
guilt  can  pierce,  and  the  law  declares  her  innocent, 
unless  the  proof  you  have  heard  on  her  trial  satisfies 
you,  beyond  a  reasonable  doubt,  that  she  is  guilty. 
What  constitutes  reasonable  doubt,  it  becomes  your 
duty  to  earnestly  and  carefully  consider.  It  is  charged 
that  the  defendant,  on  the  night  of  the  twenty-sixth  of 
October,  did  wilfully,  deliberately  and  premeditatedly 
murder  Robert  Luke  Darrington,  by  striking  him 
brass  andiron.  The  legal  definition  of  mur- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  339 

der  is  the  unlawful  killing1  of  another,  with  malice 
aforethought ;  and  is  divided  into  two  degrees.  Any 
murder  committed  knowingly,  intentionally  and  wan 
tonly,  and  without  just  cause  or  excuse,  is  murder  in 
the  first  degree ;  and  this  is  the  offence  charged 
against  the  prisoner  at  the  bar.  If  you  believe  from 
the  evidence,  that  the  defendant,  Beryl  Brentano,  did 
at  the  time  and  place  named,  wilfully  and  premedi- 
tatedly  kill  Robert  Luke  Barring-ton,  then  it  will  be 
come  your  duty  to  find  the  defendant  guilty  of  murder; 
if  you  do  not  so  believe,  then  it  will  be  your  duty  to 
acquit  her.  A  copy  of  the  legal  definition  of  homicide, 
embracing  murder  in  the  first  and  second  degrees,  and 
of  manslaughter  in  the  first  and  second  degrees,  will 
be  furnished  for  your  instruction  ;  and  it  is  your  right 
and  privilege  after  a  careful  examination  of  all  the 
evidence,  to  convict  of  a  lesser  crime  than  that 
charged  in  the  indictment,  provided  all  the  evidence  in 
this  case,  should  so  convince  your  minds,  to  the  exclu 
sion  of  a  reasonable  doubt. 

"In  your  deliberations  you  will  constantly  bear  in 
memory,  the  following  long  established  rules  provided 
for  the  guidance  of  jurors  : 

"  'I. — The  burden  of  proof  rests  upon  the  prosecu 
tion,  and  does  not  shift  or  change  to  the  defendant  in 
any  phase  or  stage  of  the  case. 

"  '  II.— Before  the  jury  can  convict  the  accused,  they 
must  be  satisfied  from  the  evidence  that  she  is  guilty 
of  the  offence  charged  in  the  indictment,  beyond  a 
reasonable  doubt.  It  is  not  sufficient  that  they  should 
believe  her  guilt  only  probable.  No  degree  of  proba 
bility  merely,  will  authorize  a  conviction ;  but  the  evi 
dence  must  be  of  such  character  and  tendency  as  to 
produce  a  moral  certainty  of  the  prisoner's  guilt,  te 
the  exclusion  of  reasonable  doubt. 


340  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"  *  III. — Each  fact  which  is  necessary  in  the  chain  of 
circumstances  to  establish  the  guilt  of  the  accused, 
must  be  distinctly  proved  by  competent  legal  evidence, 
and  if  the  jury  have  reasonable  doubt  as  to  any  ma 
terial  fact,  necessary  to  be  proved  in  order  to  support 
the  hypothesis  of  the  prisoner's  guilt,  to  the  exclusion 
of  every  other  reasonable  hypothesis,  they  must  find 
her  not  guilty. 

"  '  IV. — If  the  jury  are  satisfied  from  the  evidence, 
that  the  accused  is  guilty  of  the  offence  charged,  beyond 
reasonable  doubt,  and  no  rational  hypothesis  or  ex 
planation  can  be  framed  or  given  (upon  the  whole  evi 
dence  in  the  cause)  consistent  with  the  innocence  of  the 
accused,  and  at  the  same  time  consistent  with  the  facts 
proved,  they  ought  to  find  her  guilty.  The  j  ury  are  the 
exclusive  judges  of  the  evidence,  of  its  weight,  and  of 
the  credibility  of  the  witnesses.  It  is  their  duty  to 
accept  and  be  governed  by  the  law,  as  given  by  the 
Court  in  its  instructions.' 

"  The  evidence  in  this  case  is  not  direct  and  positive, 
but  presumptive  ;  and  your  attention  has  been  called 
to  some  well  known  cases  of  persons  convicted  of,  and 
executed  for  capital  crimes,  whose  en  tire  innocence  was 
subsequently  made  apparent.  These  arguments  and 
cases  only  prove  that,  '  all  human  evidence,  whether  it 
be  positive  or  presumptive  in  its  character,  like  every 
thing  else  that  partakes  of  mortality,  is  fallible.  The 
reason  ma}7"  be  as  completely  convinced  by  circumstan 
tial — as  by  positive  evidence,  and  yet  may  possibly  not 
arrive  at  the  truth  by  either.' 

"The  true  question,  therefore,  for  your  considera 
tion,  is  not  the  kind  of  evidence  in  this  case,  but  it  is, 
what  is  the  result  of  it  in  your  minds  ?  If  it  has  failed 
to  satisfy  you  of  the  guilt  of  the  accused,  and  your 
minds  are  not  convinced,  vacillate  in  doubt,  then  you 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  341 

must  acquit  her,  be  the  evidence  what  it  may,  positive 
or  presumptive ;  but  if  the  result  of  the  whole  evidence 
satisfies  you,  if  you  are  convinced  that  she  is  guilty,  then 
it  is  imperatively  your  duty  to  convict  her,  even  if  the 
character  of  the  evidence  be  wholly  circumstantial.' 
Such  is  the  law. 

"  In  resigning-  this  case  to  you,  I  deem  it  my  duty 
to  direct  your  attention  to  one  point,  which  I  suggest 
that  you  consider.  If  the  accused  administered  chloro 
form,  did  it  indicate  that  her  original  intention  was 
solely  to  rob  the  vault  ?  Is  the  act  of  administering 
the  chloroform  consistent  with  the  theory  of  deliberate 
and  premeditated  murder  ?  In  examining  the  facts  sub 
mitted  by  counsel,  take  the  suggestion  just  presented, 
with  you,  and  if  the  facts  and  circumstances  proved 
against  her,  can  be  accounted  for  on  the  theory  of  in 
tended,  deliberate  robbery,  without  necessarily  involv 
ing  premeditated  murder,  it  is  your  privilege  to  put 
that  merciful  construction  upon  them. 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  I  commit  this  mournful 
and  terrible  case  to  your  decision;  and  solemnly  adjure 
you  to  be  governed  in  your  deliberations,  by  the  evi 
dence  as  you  understand  it,  by  the  law  as  furnished  in 
these  instructions,  and  to  render  such  verdict,  as  your 
reason  compels,  as  your  matured  judgment  demands, 
and  your  conscience  unhesitatingly  approves  and  sanc 
tions.  May  God  direct  and  control  your  decision." 


CHAPTER    XX. 

T~\  RIFTING  along  the  stream  of  testimony  that 
**^  rolled  in  front  of  the  jury-box,  an  eager  and 
excited  public  had  with  scarcely  a  dissenting  voice 


342  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

arrived  at  the  conclusion,  that  the  verdict  was  nar 
rowed  to  the  limits  of  only  two  possibilities.  It 
was  confidently  expected  that  the  jury  would  either 
acquit  unconditionally,  or  fail  to  agree;  thus  prolong 
ing1  suspense,  by  a  mistrial.  It  was  six  o'clock  when 
the  jurors,  bearing  the  andiron,  handkerchief,  pipe, 
and  a  diagram  of  the  bedroom  at  "  Elm  Bluff  ",  were 
led  away  to  their  final  deliberation ;  yet  so  well  as 
sured  was  the  mass  of  spectators,  that  they  would 
promptly  return  to  render  a  favorable  verdict,  that 
despite  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  there  was  no 
perceptible  diminution  of  the  anxious  crowd  of  men 
and  women. 

The  night  had  settled  prematurely  down,  black  and 
stormy ;  and  though  the  fury  of  the  gale  seemed  at 
one  time  to  have  spent  itself,  the  wind  veered  to  the 
implacable  east,  and  instead  of  fitful  gusts,  a  steady 
roaring  blast  freighted  with  rain  smote  the  darkness. 
The  officer  conducted  his  prisoner  across  the  dim  cor 
ridor,  and  opened  the  door  of  the  small  anteroom, 
which  frequent  occupancy  had  rendered  gloomily 
familiar. 

"  I  wish  I  could  make  you  more  comfortable,  and  it 
is  a  shame  to  shut  you  up  in  such  an  ice-box.  I  TV  ill 
throw  my  overcoat  on  the  floor,  and  you  can  wrap 
your  feet  up  in  it.  Yes,  you  must  take  it.  I  shall 
keep  warm  at  the  stove  in  the  Sheriff's  room.  The 
Judge  will  not  wait  later  than  ten  o'clock,  then  I'll  take 
you  back  to  Mrs.  Singleton.  It  seems  you  prefer  to 
remain  here  alone." 

"  Yes,  entirely  alone." 

"  You  are  positive,  you  won't  try  a  little  hot  punch, 
or  a  glass  of  wine  ?" 

"  Thank  you,  but  I  wish  only  to  be  alone." 

"  Don't  be  too  down-hearted.     You  will  never  be 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  348 

convicted  under  that  indictment,  at  least  not  by  this 
jury,  for  I  have  a  suspicion  that  there  is  one  man 
among1  them,  who  will  stand  out  until  the  stars  fall, 
and  I  will  tell  you  why.  I  happened  to  be  looking-  at 
him,  when  your  Christmas  card  was  shown  by  Mr. 
Dunbar.  The  moment  he  saw  it,  he  started,  stretch 
ed  out  his  hand,  and  as  he  looked  at  it,  I  saw  him 
choke  up,  and  pass  his  hand  over  his  eyes.  Soon  after 
Christmas,  that  man  lost  his  only  child,  a  girl  five 
years  old,  who  had  scarlet  fever.  To  divert  her 
mind,  they  gave  her  a  Christmas  card  to  play  with, 
that  some  friend  had  sent  to  her  mother.  She  had  it 
in  her  hand  when  she  died,  in  convulsions,  and  it  was 
put  in  her  coffin  and  buried  with  her.  My  wife  helped  to 
nurse  and  shroud  her,  and  she  told  me  it  was  the  card 
shown  in  court;  it  was  your  card.  The  law  can't  cut  out 
the  heartstrings  of  the  jury,  and  I  don't  believe  that 
man  would  lift  his  hand  against  your  life,  any  sooner 
than  he  would  strike  the  face  of  his  dead  child." 

He  locked  the  door,  and  Beryl  found  herself  at  last 
alone,  in  the  dreary  lifctle  den  where  a  single  gas 
burner  served  only  to  show  the  surrounding  cheerless- 
ness.  The  furniture  o)inprised  a  wooden  bench 
along  the  wall,  two  chairs,  and  a  table  in  the  middle 
of  the  floor ;  and  on  the  dusty  panes  of  the  grated 
window,  a  ray  of  ruddy  light  from  a  lamp  post  in  the 
street  beneath,  broke  through  the  leaden  lances  of  the 
rain,  and  struggled  for  admission. 

The  neurotic  pharmacopoeia  contains  nothing  so 
potent  as  despair  to  steady  quivering  nerves,  and 
steel  to  superhuman  endurance.  For  Beryl,  the  pen 
dulum  of  suspense  had  ceased  to  swing,  because  the 
spring  of  hope  had  snapped;  and  the  complete  sur 
render,  the  mute  acceptance  of  the  worst  possible  to 
come,  had  left  her  numb,  impervious  to  dread.  As 


AT  THE  MEECY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

one  by  one  the  discovered  facts  spelled  unmistakably 
the  name  of  her  brother,  allowing  no  margin  to  doubt 
his  guilt,  the  necessity  of  atonement  absorbed  every 
other  consideration ;  and  the  desire  to  avert  his  pun 
ishment  extinguished  the  last  remnant  of  selfish 
anxiety.  If  by  suffering  in  his  stead,  she  could  secure 
to  him  life — the  opportunities  of  repentance,  of  expia 
tion,  of  making  his  peace  with  God,  of  saving  his 
immortal  soul — how  insignificant  seemed  all  else.  The 
innate  love  of  life,  the  natural  yearning  for  happiness, 
the  once  fervent  aspirations  for  fame — the  indescrib 
able  longing  for  the  fruition  of  youth's  high  hopes, 
which  like  a  Siren  sang  somewhere  in  the  golden  mists 
of  futurity — all  these  were  now  crushed  beyond  recog 
nition  in  the  whirlwind  that  had  wrecked  her. 

Her  father  slept  under  silvery  olives  in  a  Tuscan  dell, 
her  mother  within  hearing  of  the  waves  that  broke  on 
the  Atlantic  shore ;  and  if  the  wanderer  could  be  pur 
ified  by  penitential  tears,  what  mattered  the  shattering 
of  the  family  circle  on  earth,  when  in  the  eternal 
Beyond,  it  would  be  indissolubly  reformed  ?  Over  the 
black  gulf  that  yawned  in  her  young,  pure  life,  the 
wings  of  her  Christian  faith  bore  her  steadily,  unwaver 
ingly  to  the  heavenly  rest,  that  she  knew  remained 
for  the  people  of  God ;  and  so,  she  seemed  to  have 
shaken  hands  with  the  things  of  time  and  earth,  and  to 
stand  on  the  border  land,  girded  for  departure.  To 
meet  her  beloved  dead,  with  the  blessed  announcement 
that  Bertie  must  join  them  after  a  while,  because  she 
had  ransomed  his  precious  soul ;  and  that  the  family 
would  be  complete  under  the  heavenly  roof,  was  recom 
pense  so  rich,  that  the  fangs  of  disgrace,  of  physical 
and  mental  torture  were  effectually  extracted.  By  day 
and  by  night  the  ladder  of  prayer  lifted  her  soul  into 
that  serene  realm,  where  the  fountains  of  balm  are 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  345 

never  drained;  and  into  her  face  stole  the  reflection  of 
that  peace  which  only  communion  with  the  Christian's 
God  can  bring-  to  those  whom  grief  has  claimed  for  its 
own. 

To-night,  as  she  listened  to  the  Coronach  chanted  by 
the  gale,  and  the  dismal  accompaniment  of  the  pelting 
rain,  she  realized  how  utterly  isolated  was  her  position, 
and  kneeling  on  the  bare  floor,  crossed  her  arms  on  the 
table,  bowed  her  head  upon  them,  and  prayed  for 
patience  and  strength.  The  ordeal  had  been  fiery,  but 
the  end  was  at  hand,  and  release  must  be  near. 

She  heard  quick  steps  in  the  corridor,  and  the  key  was 
turned  in  the  lock.  Had  the  jury  so  promptly  decided 
to  destroy  her  ?  For  an  instant  only,  she  shut  her  eyes; 
and  when  she  opened  them,  Mr.  Dunbar  was  leaning 
over  her,  folding  closely  about  her  shoulders  some 
heavy  wrap,  whose  soft  fur  collar  his  fingers  buttoned 
around  her  throat.  She  had  not  known  that  she  was 
cold,  until  the  delicious  sensation  of  warmth  crept  like 
a  caressing  touch  over  her  chilled  limbs.  She  did  not 
stir,  and  neither  spoke :  but  after  a  moment  he  turned 
toward  the  door  ;  then  she  rose. 

"There  is  something  I  wish  to  say,  and  this  is  my 
last  opportunity,  as  after  to-night  we  shall  not  meet, 
again.  During  the  past  four  months  I  have  said  harsh, 
bitter  things  to  you,  and  have  unjustly  judged  you. 
In  grateful  recognition  of  all  that  you  have  so  faithfully 
essayed  to  accomplish  in  my  behalf,  I  ask  you  now  to 
forget  everything  but  my  gratitude  for  your  effort  to 
save  me  ;  and  I  offer  my  hand  to  you,  as  the  one  friend 
who  sacrificed  even  his  manly  pride,  and  endured  hu 
miliation  in  order  to  redress  my  wrongs.  I  thank  you 
very  sincerely,  Mr.  Dunbar." 

He  took  her  outstretched  hand,  pressed  it  against 
his  cheek,  his  eyes,  hold  it  to  his  lips ;  then  a  half 


AT  THE  MEROY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

smothered  groan  escaped  him,  and  afraid  to  trust  him 
self,  he  went  quickly  out. 

Believing-  that  she  stood  on  the  confines  of  another 
world,  she  had  possessed  her  soul  in  patience,  waiting 
for  the  consummation  of  the  sacrifice  ;  yet  at  the  crisis 
of  her  fate,  that  singular,  incomprehensible  influence, 
long  resisted,  drew  her  thoughts  to  him,  whom  she 
regarded  as  the  chosen  puppet  of  destiny  to  hurry  her 
into  an  untimely  grave.  She  had  fought  the  battle 
with  him,  under  fearful  odds ;  conscious  of  sedition  in 
the  heart  that  defied  him,  warily  clutching  with  one 
hand  the  throat  of  rebellion  in  her  citadel,  while  with 
the  other,  she  parried  assault. 

Keeping  lonely  vigil,  amid  the  strewn  wreck  of  life 
and  hope,  she  had  waved  away  one  persistent  thought, 
that  lit  up  the  blackness  with  a  sudden  glory,  that 
came  with  the  face  of  an  angel  of  light,  and  babbled 
with  the  silvery  tongue  of  sorcery.  As  far  as  her  fu 
ture  was  concerned,  this  world  had  practically  come 
to  a  premature  end ;  but  above  the  roar  of  ruin,  and 
out  of  the  yawning  graves  of  slaughtered  possibilities, 
rose  and  rang  the  challenge :  If  she  had  never  come 
South,  if  she  could  have  been  allowed  the  chance  of 
happiness  that  seemed  every  woman's  birthright,  if 
she  had  met  and  known  Mr.  Dunbar,  before  he  was 
pledged  to  another;  what  then?  If  she  were  once 
more  the  Beryl  of  old,  and  he  were  free  ?  If  ?  What 
necromancy  so  wonderful,  as  the  potentiality  of  if  ? 
Weighed  in  that  popular  balance — appearances— how 
stood  the  poor  friendless  prisoner,  loaded  with  sus 
picion,  tarnished  with  obloquy,  on  the  verge  of  an 
ignominious  death;  in  comparison  with  the  fair,  proud 
heiress,  dowered  with  blue  blood,  powerful  in  patrician 
influence,  rich  in  all  that  made  her  the  envy  of  her  so 
cial  world  ? 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

In  the  dazzling-  zenith  of  temporal  prosperity,  Leo 
Gordon  considered  the  heart  of  her  betrothed  her  most 
precious  possession;  the  one  jewel  which  she  would 
gladly  have  given  all  else  to  preserve;  and  yet,  fate  tore 
it  from  her  grasp,  and  laid  it  at  the  feet,  nay  thrust  it 
into  the  white  hand  of  the  woman  who  must  die  for  a 
fiendish  crime.  A  latter-day  seer  tells  us,  that  in  all 
realms,  "  Between  laws  there  is  no  analogy,  there  is 
Continuity  ";  then  in  the  universe  of  ethical  sociology, 
who  shall  trace  the  illimitable  ramifications  of  the  Law 
of  Compensation  ? 

Up  and  down,  back  and  forth,  slowJy,  wearily  walk 
ed  the  prisoner  ;  and  when  the  town  clock  struck  eight, 
she  mechanically  counted  each  stroke.  As  in  drowning 
men,  the  landmarks  of  a  lifetime  rise,  huddle,  almost 
press  upon  the  glazing  eyes,  so  the  phantasmagoria  of 
Beryl's  past,  seemed  projected  in  strange  luminousness 
upon  the  pall  of  the  present,  like  profiles  in  silvery  flame 
cast  on  a  black  curtain. 

Holding  her  father's  hand,  she  walked  in  the  Oden- 
wald  ;  sitting  beside  her  mother  on  a  carpet  of  purple 
vetches,  she  stemmed  strawberries  in  a  garden  near 
Pistoja ;  clinging  to  Bertie's  jacket,  she  followed  him 
across  dimpling  sands  to  dip  her  feet  in  the  blue  Medi 
terranean  waves,  that  broke  in  laughter,  showing  teeth 
of  foam,  where  dying  sunsets  reddened  all  the  beach. 
Through  sunny  arcades,  flushed  with  pomegranate, 
glowing  with  orange,  silvered  with  lemon  blossoms, 
came  the  tinkling  music  of  contadini  bells,  the  bleating 
of  kids,  the  twittering  of  happy  birds,  the  distant  chime 
of  an  Angelus  ;  all  the  subtle  harmony,  the  fragment 
ary  melody  that  flickers  through  an  Impromptu  of 
Chopin  or  Schubert.  She  saw  the  simulacrum  of  her 
former  self,  the  proud,  happy  Beryl  of  old,  singing 
from  the  score  of  the  "  Messiah  ",  in  the  organ  loft  of 


348  AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

a  marble  church  ;  she  heard  the  rich  tenor  voice  of  her 
handsome  brother,  as  he  trilled  a  barcarole  one  night, 
crossing-  the  Atlantic ;  she  smelled  the  tuberoses  at 
Mentone,  the  faint  breath  of  lilies  her  father  had  loved 
so  well,  and  then,  blotting  all  else,  there  rose  clear  as 
some  line  of  Morghen's,  that  attic  room  ;  the  invalid's 
bed,  the  low  chair  beside  it,  the  wasted  figure,  the  suf 
fering,  fever-flushed  face  of  the  beloved  mother,  as  she 
saw  her  last,  with  the  Grand  Duke  jasmine  fastened 
at  her  throat. 

The  door  was  thrown  open,  and  the  officer  beckoned 
her  to  follow  hina.  Back  into  the  crowded  court-room, 
where  people  pressed  even  into  the  window  sills  for 
standing  room,  where  Judge  and  counsel  sat  gravely 
expectant ;  where  the  stillness  of  death  had  suddenly 
fallen.  The  officer  conducted  her  to  the  bar,  then  drew 
back,  and  Mr.  Dunbar  came  and  stood  at  her  side ; 
resting  his  hand  on  the  back  of  her  chair. 

In  that  solemn  hush,  the  measured  tramp  of  the 
jury  advancing,  and  filing  into  their  box,  had  the 
mournful,  measured  beat  as  of  pall  bearers,  keeping  step 
to  a  dismal  dirge ;  and  when  the  foreman  laid  upon  the 
table  the  fatal  brass  unicorn,  the  muffled  sound  seemed 
ominous  as  the  grating  of  a  coffin  lowered  upon  the 
cross  bars  of  a  gaping  grave.  As  the  roll  was  called, 
each  man  rose,  and  answered  in  a  low  but  distinct 
tone.  Then  the  clerk  of  the  court  asked : 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  have  you  agreed  upon  your 
verdict?" 

"  We  have,"  replied  the  foreman. 

"  What  say  you !   Guilty,  or  not  guilty  ?" 

Beryl  had  risen,  and  the  gaslight  shining  full  upon 
her  pale,  Phidian  face,  showed  no  trace  of  trepidation. 
Only  the  pathetic  patience  of  a  sublime  surrender  was 
visible  on  her  frozen  features.  The  eyes  preternaturally 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TEBElOTft.  84f 

large  and  luminous  were  raised  far  above  the  sea  ol 
heads,  and  their  strained  gaze  might  almost  have  been 
fixed  upon  the  unveiled  face  of  the  God  she  trusted.  Her 
hands  were  folded  over  her  mother's  ring,  her  noble 
head  thrown  proudly  back. 

"  We  the  jury,  in  the  case  of  the  State  against  Beryl 
Brentano,  find  defendant  not  guilty  as  charged  in  the 
indictment;  but  guilty  of  manslaughter  in  the  first 
degree;  and  we  do  earnestly  commend  her  to  the 
mercy  of  the  Court." 

The  girl  staggered  slightly,  as  if  recoiling  from  a 
blow,  and  Mr.  Dunbar  caught  her  arm,  steadied  her. 
The  long  pent  tide  of  popular  feeling  broke  its  bar 
riers,  and  the  gates  of  Pandemonium  seemed  to  swing 
open.  Women  sobbed ;  men  groaned.  In  vain 
the  Judge  thundered  "Silence",  " Order !"  and  not 
until  an  officer  advanced  to  obey  the  command,  to  clear 
the  court-room,  was  there  any  perceptible  lull,  in  the 
storm  of  indignation. 

Turning  to  the  Judge,  Mr.  Dunbar  said : 

'  *  In  behalf  of  the  prisoner,  I  most  respectfully  beg 
that  the  Court  will  end  her  suspense ;  and  render  her 
return  to  this  bar  unnecessary  by  promptly  pronounc 
ing  sentence." 

"  Is  it  the  wish  of  the  prisoner,  that  sentence  should 
not  be  delayed  ?" 

"  She  wishes  to  know  her  fate." 

She  had  uttered  no  sound,  but  the  lashes  trembled, 
fell  over  the  tired,  aching,  strained  eyes ;  and  lifting 
her  locked  hands  she  bowed  her  chin  upon  them. 

Some  moments  elapsed,  before  Judge  Parkman 
spoke  ;  then  his  voice  was  low  and  solemn. 

"  Beryl  Brentano,  you  have  been  indicted  for  the  de 
liberate  and  premeditated  murder  of  your  grandfather, 
Robert  Luke  Darrington.  Twelve  men,  selected  for 


350  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

their  intelligence  and  impartiality,  have  patiently  and 
attentively  listened  to  the  evidence  in  this  case,  and 
have  under  oath  endeavored  to  discover  the  truth  of 
this  charge.  You  have  had  the  benefit  of  a  fair  trial, 
by  unbiased  judges,  and  finally,  the  jury  in  the  con 
scientious  discharge  of  their  duty,  have  convicted  you 
of  manslaughter  in  the  first  degree,  and  commended 
you  to  the  mercy  of  the  Court.  In  consideration  of 
your  youth,  of  the  peculiar  circumstances  surrounding 
you,  and  especially,  in  deference  to  the  wishes  and  re 
commendation  of  the  jury— whose  verdict,  the  Court 
approves,  I  therefore  pronounce  upon  you  the  lightest 
penalty  which  the  law  affixes  to  the  crime  of  man 
slaughter,  of  which  you  stand  convicted  ;  which  sen 
tence  is — that  you  be  taken  hence  to  the  State  Peniten 
tiary,  and  there  be  kept  securely,  for  the  term  of 
five  years." 

With  a  swift  movement,  Mr.  Dunbar  drew  the  crape 
veil  over  her  face,  put  her  arm  through  his,  and  led  her 
into  the  corridor.  Hurriedly  he  exchanged  some  words 
in  an  undertone  with  the  two  officers,  who  accompanied 
him  to  the  rear  entrance  of  the  court-house;  and 
then,  in  answer  to  a  shrill  whistle,  a  close  carriage 
drawn  by  two  horses  drew  up  to  the  door,  followed  by 
the  dismal  equipage  set  apart  for  the  transportation 
of  prisoners.  The  deputy  sheriff  stepped  forward,  try 
ing  to  shield  the  girl  from  the  driving  ram,  and  as 
sisted  her  into  the  carriage.  Mr.  Dunbar  sprang  in 
and  seated  himself  opposite.  The  officer  closed  the 
door,  ordered  the  coachman  to  drive  on,  and  then  en 
tering  the  gloomy  black  box,  followed  closely,  keeping 
always  in  sight  of  the  vehicle  in  advance. 

The  clock  striking  ten,  sounded  through  the  muffling 
storm  a  knell  as  mournful  as  some  tolling  bell,  while 
into  that  wild,  moaning  Friday  night,  went  the  desolate 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  351 

woman,  wearing  henceforth  the  brand  of  Cain — remand 
ed  to  the  convict's  home. 

She  had  thrown  back  her  veil  to  ease  the  stifling 
sensation  in  her  throat,  and  Mr.  Dunbar  could  see  now 
and  then,  as  they  dashed  past  a  street  lamp,  that  she 
sat  upright,  still  as  stone. 

At  last  she  said,  in  a  tone  peculiarly  calm,  like  that 
of  one  talking  in  sleep  : 

"  What  did  it  mean— that  verdict  ?" 

' '  That  you  went  back  to  '  Elm  Bluff '  with  no  inten 
tion  of  attacking  Gen'l  Darrington." 

"  That  I  went  there  deliberately  to  steal,  and  then 
to  avoid  detection,  killed  him  ?  That  was  the  verdict 
of  the  jury?" 

She  waited  a  moment. 

"Answer  me.  That  was  the  meaning  ?  That  was  the 
most  merciful  verdict  they  could  give  to  the  world  ?" 

Only  the  hissing  sound  of  the  ram  upon  the  glass 
pane  of  the  carriage,  made  reply. 

They  had  reached  the  bridge,  when  a  hysterical 
laugh  startled  the  man,  who  leaned  back  on  the  front 
seat,  with  his  arms  crossed  tightly  over  a  heart  throb 
bing  with  almost  unendurable  pain. 

"  To  steal,  to  rob,  to  plunder.  Branded  for  all  time  a 
thief,  a  rogue,  a  murderess.  I ! —  I — " 

A  passionate  wail  told  the  strain  was  broken :  "  I, 
my  father's  darling,  my  father's  Beryl !  Hurled 
into  a  living  tomb,  herded  with  convicts,  with  the  vil 
est  outcasts  that  disgrace  the  earth — this  is  worse  than 
a  thousand  deaths  !  It  would  have  been  so  merciful  to 
crush  out  the  life  they  mangled ;  but  to  doom  me  to  the 
Blow  torture  of  this  loathsome  grave,where  death  brings 
no  release  !  To  die  is  so  easy,  so  blessed ;  but  to  live — a 
convicted  felon  !  0,  my  God !  my  God  !  Hast  Thou 
indeed  forsaken  me  ?" 


852  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

In  the  appalling1  realization  of  her  fate,  she  rocked 
to  and  fro  for  a-  moment  only,  fiercely  shaken  by  the 
horror  of  a  future  never  before  contemplated.  Then 
thu  proud  soul  stifled  its  shuddering*  sigh,  lifted  its 
bu/den  of  shame,  silently  struggled  up  its  awful  Via 
Cruets.  Mute  and  still,  she  leaned  back  in  the  corner 
of  I  he  carriage. 

"  I  could  have  saved  you,  but  you  would  not  accept 
deliverance.  You  thwarted  every  effort,  tied  the 
hands  that  might  have  set  you  free ;  and  by  your  own 
premeditated  course  throughout  the  trial,  deliberately 
dragged  this  doom  d own  upon  your  head.  You  counted 
the  cost,  and  you  elected,  chose  of  your  own  free  will 
to  offer  yourself  as  a  sacrifice,  to  the  law,  for  the  crime 
of  another.  You  are  your  own  merciless  fate,  decree 
ing  self-immolation.  You  were  willing  to  die,  in  order 
to  save  that  man's  life ;  and  you  can  certainly  summon 
fortitude  to  endure  five  years'  deprivation  of  his  so 
ciety  ;  sustained  by  the  hope  that  having  thereby  pur 
chased  his  security,  you  may  yet  reap  the  reward  your 
heart  demands,  reunion  with  its  worthless,  degraded 
idol.  I  have  watched,  weighed,  studied  you ;  searched 
every  stray  record  of  your  fair  young  life,  found  the 
clear  pages  all  pure ;  and  I  have  doubted,  marvelled 
that  you,  lily-hearted,  lily-souled,  lily-handed,  could 
cast  the  pearl  of  your  love  down  in  the  mire,  to  be  tram 
pled  by  swinish  feet." 

The  darkness  of  the  City  of  Dis  that  seemed  to  brood 
under  the  wings  of  the  stormy  night,  veiled  Beryl's  face  ; 
aiid  her  silence  goaded  him  beyond  the  limits  of  pru 
dence,  which  he  had  warily  surveyed  for  himself. 

"  Day  and  night,  I  hear  the  maddening  echo  oi  your 
accusing  cry,  '  You  have  ruined  my  life  !'  God  knows, 
you  have  as  effectually  ruined  mine.  You  have  your 
revenge — if  it  comfort  you  to  know  it ;  but  I  am  incapa- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  353 

ble  of  your  sublime  renunciation.  I  am  no  patient 
martyr ;  I  am,  instead,  an  intensely  selfish  man.  You 
choose  to  hug  the  ashes  of  desolation ;  I  purpose  to 
sweep  away  the  wreck,  to  rebuild  on  the  foundation  of 
one  hope,  which  all  the  legions  in  hell  cannot  shake 
Between  you  and  me  the  battle  has  only  begun,  and 
nothing  but  your  death  or  my  victory  will  end  it.  You 
have  your  revenge  ;  I  intend  to  enjoy  mine.  Though 
he  burrow  as  a  mole,  or  skulk  in  some  fastness  of 
Alaska,  I  will  track  and  seize  that  cowardly  miscreant, 
and  when  the  law  receives  its  guilty  victim,  you  shall 
be  freed  from  suspicion,  freed  from  prison,  and  most 
precious  of  all  boons,  you  shall  be  freed  forever  from 
the  vile  contamination  of  his  polluting  touch.  For 
the  pangs  you  have  inflicted  on  me,  I  will  have  my 
revenge :  you  shall  never  be  profaned  by  the  name  of 
wife." 

Up  the  rocky  hill  toiled  the  horses,  arching  their 
necks  as  they  stooped  their  faces  to  avoid  the  blinding 
i  din ;  and  soon  the  huge  blot  of  prison  walls,  like  a 
crouching  monster  ambushed  in  surrounding  gloom, 
barred  the  way. 

In  two  windows  of  the  second  story,  burned  lights 
that  borrowed  lurid  rays  in  their  passage  through  the 
mist,  and  seemed  to  glow  angrily,  like  the  red  eyes  of 
a  sullen  beast  of  prey.  The  carriage  stopped.  A  mo 
ment  after,  the  deputy-sheriff  sprang  from  his  wagon 
and  rang  the  bell  close  to  the  great  gate.  Two  dogs 
bayed  hoarsely,  and  somewhere  in  the  building  an  an 
swering  bell  sounded. 

Beryl  Teaned  forward. 

"  Mr.  Dunbar,  there  is  one  last  favor  1  ask  at  your 
hands.  I  want  my — my — I  want  that  pipe,  that  was 
shown  in  court.  Will  you  ask  that  it  may  be  given  to 
me  ?  Will  /ou  send  it  to  me  ?" 


354  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

A  half  strangled,  scarcely  audible  oath  was  his  only 
reply. 

She  put  out  her  hand,  laid  it  on  his. 

"  You  have  caused  me  so  much  suffering,  surely  you 
will  not  deny  me  this  only  recompense  I  shall  ever  ask." 

His  hand  closed  over  hers. 

"  If  I  bring  it  to  you,  will  you  confess  who  smoked  it 
last?" 

"  After  to-night,  sir,  I  think  it  best  I  should  never 
see  your  face  again." 

The  officer  opened  the  carriage  door,  the  warden  ap 
proached,  carrying  a  lantern  in  one  hand  and  an  um 
brella  in  the  other.  Mr.  Dunbar  stepped  from  the  car 
riage  and  turning,  stretched  out  his  arms,  suddenly 
snatched  the  girl  for  an  instant  close  to  his  heart,  and 
lifted  her  to  the  ground. 

The  warden  opened  the  gate,  swinging  his  lantern 
high  to  light  the  way,  and  by  its  flickering  rays  Lennox 
Dunbar  saw  the  beautiful  white  face,  the  wonderful, 
sad  eyes,  the  wan  lips  contracted  by  a  spasm  of  pain. 

She  turned  and  followed  the  warden ;  the  lights 
wavered ;  the  great  iron  gate  swung  back  in  its  groove, 
the  bolt  fell  with  a  sullen  clang;  the  massive  key 
rattled,  a  chain  clanked,  and  all  was  darkness  as  she 
was  locked  irrevocably  into  her  living  tomb. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

HTHE  annual  resurrection  had  begun;  the  pulse  of 

•*•      Nature    quickened,    rose,    throbbed    under  the 

vernal    summons ;    pale,  tender  grass-blades  peeped 

above  the  mould,  houstonias  lifted  their  blue  disks  to 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  355 

the  March  sun,  and  while  the  world  of  birds  com 
menced  their  preludes  where  silky  young  leaves  shyly 
fluttered,  earth  and  sky  were  wrapped  in  that  silvery 
haze  with  which  coy  Springtime  half  veils  her  radiant 
face.  The  vivid  verdure  of  wheat  and  oat  fields,  the 
cooler  aqua  marina  of  long  stretches  of  rye,  served  as 
mere  groundwork  for  displaying  in  bold  relief  the 
snowy  tufts  of  plum,  the  creamy  clusters  of  pear,  and 
the  glowing  pink  of  peach  orchards  that  clothed  the 
hillsides,  and  brimmed  the  valleys  with  fragrant 
prophecies  of  fruitful  plenty. 

Dimmed  by  distance  to  fine  lines  of  steel,  wavered 
the  flocks  of  wild  geese  flying  from  steaming  bayous 
to  icy  lakes  in  the  far  North,  and  now  and  then  as  the 
ranks  dipped,  a  white  flash  lit  the  vignettes  traced 
against  the  misty,  pearl-gray  sky. 

Spring  sunshine  had  kissed  the  lips  of  death,  and 
universal  life  sprang  palpitating  to  begin  anew  the 
appointed  yearly  cycle ;  yet  amid  the  flush  and  stir  of 
mother  earth,  there  lay  hopelessly  still  and  cold  some 
human  hopes,  which  no  divine  "Come  forth"  would 
ever  revivify. 

Into  the  face  of  Leo  Gordon  had  crept  that  strange 
and  indescribable  change,  which  is  analogous  to  the 
peculiar  aspect  of  the  clear  heavens  when  dark  clouds 
just  faintly  rim  the  horizon,  below  which  they  heap 
their  sombre,  sullen  masses,  projecting  upward  weird 
shadows. 

Apparently  the  sun  of  prosperity  burned  in  the 
zenith  and  gilded  her  path  with  happiness,  but  ana 
lyzed  by  the  prism  of  her  consciousness  the  brightness 
faded,  the  colors  paled,  and  grim  menace  crossed  all, 
like  the  dark  lines  of  Fraunhofer.  To  be  chosen, 
loved,  wooed  and  won  exclusively  for  herself,  irrespec 
tive  of  all  extraneous  appurtenances  and  advan- 


356  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

tages,  is  the  supreme  hope  innate  in  every  woman 
and  the  dread  that  her  wealth  might  invest  her  with 
charms  not  intrinsic,  had  made  Leo  unusually  dis 
trustful  of  the  motives  of  her  numerous  suitors.  That 
Leighton  Douglass  loved  the  woman,  not  the  heiress, 
she  knew  beyond  the  possibility  of  cavil  or  doubt,  and 
when,  after  mature  deliberation,  she  promised  her 
hand  to  Mr.  Dunbar,  she  had  felt  equally  sure  that  no 
mercenary  consideration  biased  his  choice  or  inspired 
his  professions  of  attachment. 

For  a  nature  so  proudly  poised,  so  averse  to  all  im 
pulsive  manifestations  of  emotion,  her  affections  were 
surprisingly  warm  and  clinging,  and  she  loved  him 
with  all  the  depth  and  fervor  of  her  tender,  generous 
heart ;  hence  the  slow  torture  of  her  humiliation  in 
the  hour  of  disenchantment.  To  women  who  love  is 
given  a  sixth  sense,  a  subtile  instinct  whereby,  as  in  an 
occult  alembic,  they  discern  the  poison  that  steals  into 
their  wine  of  joy  ;  so  Leo  was  not  long  in  ignorance 
that  her  coveted  kingdom  belonged  by  right  of  con 
quest  to  another,  and  that  she  reigned  only  nominally 
and  by  courtesy. 

The  evil  we  most  abhor  generally  espies  us  afar  off, 
chases  tirelessly,  crouches  at  our  feet,  grimacing  tri 
umphantly  at  our  impotence  to  escape  its  loathsome 
clutches ;  and  Leo's  pride  bled  sorely  hi  the  realiza 
tion  that  she  had  sold  her  hand  and  heart  for  base 
counterfeit  equivalents.  In  a  crisis  of  keen  disappoint 
ment,  only  very  noble  natures  can  remain  strictly  just, 
yet  in  arraigning  her  lover  for  disloyalty,  this  sorrow 
ing  woman  abstained  from  casting  all  the  blame  upon 
him.  He  had  not  intentionally  deceived  her,  had  not 
deliberately  betrayed  her  trust ;  he  was  the  unwilling 
victim  of  an  inexplicable  fascination  against  which  she 
felt  assured  he  had  struggled  sullenly  and  persistently ; 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  357 

and  which,  in  destroying  the  beautiful  edifice  of  their 
mutual  hopes,  offered  him  nothing  but  humiliation  in 
exchange. 

Standing  to-day  beside  the  pyramid  of  scarlet  gera 
niums,  and  velvety,  gold-powdered  begonias  in  the 
centre  of  the  octagonal  room,  where  the  warm  Spring 
sun  shone  down  through  the  dome,  falling  aslant  on 
the  great  snowy  owl  and  the  rose-colored  cockatoo 
smoothing  their  plumes  on  the  top  of  the  glittering  brass 
cages — Leo  contrasted  the  luxurious  and  elegant  details 
of  her  lovely  home  with  the  grim  and  bleak  cell  where, 
in  shame  and  ignominy,  dwelt  the  young  stranger  who 
had  stolen  her  throne.  A  beggar  by  the  roadside  had 
filched  from  the  queen  in  her  palace,  her  crown  and 
sceptre,  and  the  pomp  and  splendor  of  royal  surround 
ings  only  mocked  and  emphasized  an  empty  sham. 
Merely  a  trifle  paler  than  usual,  and  somewhat  heavy- 
eyed  from  acquaintance  with  midnight  vigils,  she 
proudly  bore  her  new  burden  of  grief  with  her  wonted 
easy  grace;  but  the  pretty  mouth  was  compressed 
into  harder,  narrower  lines,  and  the  delicate  nose  dilat 
ed  in  a  haughtier  curve.  Sooner  or  later  we  all  learn 
the  wisdom  of  the  unwelcome  admonition :  "  Fortune 
sells  what  we  believe  she  gives." 

For  two  months  Leo's  relations  with  Mr.  Dunbar  had 
been  distinctly  strained,  and  while  both  carefully 
avoided  any  verbal  attempt  at  explanation,  her  manner 
had  grown  more  distant,  his  more  scrupulously  Cour 
teous,  but  pre-occupied,  guarded  and  cold.  Knowing 
that  abdication  was  inevitable,  she  slowly  revolved  the 
best  method  of  release,  which  promised  the  least  sacri 
fice  of  womanly  dignity,  and  the  greatest  economy  of 
unpleasantness  on  the  part  of  her  betrothed. 

Dui'ing  the  week  of  the  trial,  she  had  seen  him  but 
twice,  and  immediately  after  he  had  been  summoned 


358  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

to  attend  some  suit  in  New  Orleans,  and  had  hur 
riedly  bidden  her  adieu  in  the  presence  of  others. 
With  punctilious  regularity  he  wrote  studiedly  pol 
ished,  graceful  yet  merely  friendly  letters,  and  like 
ice  morsels  they  slowly  widened  the  glacier  creeping 
between  the  two. 

To  her  council  she  admitted  only  her  bruised  pride, 
her  bleeding  heart,  her  relentless  incorruptible  con 
science;  and  over  the  conclusion,  she  shed  no  tears, 
made  no  moan,  allowed  no  margin  for  pity.  Early  on 
that  Spring  morning,  she  had  received  a  glowing 
sheaf  of  La  France  and  Duchess  de  Brabant  roses, 
accompanied  by  a  brief  note  announcing  Mr.  Dunbar's 
return,  and  requesting  an  interview  at  noon.  The  tone 
of  her  reply  was  markedly  cordial,  and  after  offering 
congratulations  upon  his  birthday,  she  begged  his 
acceptance  of  a  souvenir  made  for  the  occasion  by  her 
own  hands,  a  dainty  "bit  of  embroidery  which  she 
flattered  herself,  he  would  value  for  the  sake  of  the 
donor." 

Who  doubts  that  Vashti  made  a  most  elaborate 
toilette,  on  that  day  of  humiliation,  when  discarded  and 
discrowned  she  trailed  her  royal  robes  for  the  last  time 
across  the  marble  courts  of  Shushan,  going  forth  to 
make  room  for  Queen  Esther  ?  Amid  the  loops  of  lace 
at  her  throat,  and  into  the  jewelled  clasp  of  her  belt, 
Leo  had  fastened  the  exquisite  roses,  noting  the  perfect 
harmony  of  her  costume,  as  she  smoothed  the  folds  of 
the  sapphire  velvet  robe  which  she  knew  that  Mr.  Dun- 
bar  particularly  admired.  The  lofty,  beautiful  room  was 
aglow  with  rich  color  from  oriental  rugs  strewn  about 
the  marble  floor,  from  masses  of  hyacinths  and  crimson 
camellias  in  stands,  baskets,  vases;  from  brilliant  tropi 
cal  birds  flitting  to  and  fro ;  and  through  the  gilt  wire 
vista  of  the  aviary,  the  fountain  in  the  peristyle  beyond 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  359 

threw  up  its  silvery  hands  to  arrest  attention,  and  soft 
ly  beat  time  to  the  music  of  the  gold  and  green  canaries. 
The  large  white  owl  with  wide,  prescient,  berylline  eyes, 
rose  suddenly,  and  on  slow  wings  circled  round  and 
round,  flying  gradually  to  the  ceiling  of  the  dome, 
then  swooped  back  to  its  perch;  and  the  Siberian 
hound,  a  huge,  dun-hued  creature,  lifted  his  head  from 
the  velvet  rug  and  rubbed  it  against  his  mistress' 
dress. 

As  the  sound  of  a  step  she  knew  so  well,  rang  in 
the  vestibule,  the  blood  leaped  to  Leo's  cheeks,  but  she 
walked  quickly  forward,  and  met  her  visitor  just  be 
neath  the  "  Salve  "  in  the  scroll  of  olives,  putting  out 
her  hands  across  the  onyx  table  with  its  red  and 
black  bowl  of  violets.  Thus  at  arm's  length,  she  held 
him  a  moment. 

"  I  am  very  glad  to  see  you ;  and  I  wish  you  a 
happy  birthday,  hoping  your  new  year  may  be  as 
bright  as  the  sun  that  ushers  it  in  ;  and  as  full  of  fra 
grance  as  these  lovely  roses,  which  I  wear  in  honor  of 
the  day." 

Hand  in  hand,  she  smiled  up  into  his  handsome  face, 
and  certainly  he  had  never  looked  more  kingly,  more 
worthy  of  her  homage. 

"  Thank  you,  dear  Leo.  The  light  and  sweetness  of 
my  future  can  be  blotted  out,  only  by  losing  you. 
You  must  be  the  fulfilment  of  your  own  kind  wishes." 

He  raised  her  left  hand,  kissed  it  lightly,  and  as  she 
withdrew  her  fingers  and  resumed  her  seat,  in  front  of 
an  ottoman  ablaze  with  a  tangled  mass  of  brilliant 
Berlin  wool,  he  sat  down  at  her  side. 

Ere  she  was  aware  of  his  intention,  he  pushed  the 
ottoman  beyond  her  reach,  and  dexterously  catching 
her  hand,  took  the  gold  thimble  from  her  finger  and 
dropped  it  into  his  vest  pocket. 


360  AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

"  Perish  the  fetich  of  needle-work,  crochet  and 
knitting- !  To-day  at  least  it  shall  not  come  between 
us  ;  and  I  claim  your  eyes,  your  undivided  attention. 
Now  tell  me  how  many  of  my  rivals,  how  many  auda 
cious  suitors  you  have  held  at  bay,  by  these  gay  Pene 
lope  webs  woven  in  my  absence  ?" 

"  Has  Ulysses  the  right  to  be  curious  ?  Should  not 
memories  of  Calypso  incline  him  to  unlock  the  fetters 
of  Penelope?" 

"  Did  she  ever  for  one  instant  deem  the  silken  cords 
she  hugged  to  her  loyal,  tender  hearts— fetters  ?  Sweet, 
patient  incarnation  of  unquestioning  fidelity,  she 
stands  the  eternal  antithesis  of  Mrs.  Caudle.  From 
Kittie's  letter,  I  inferred  you  were  not  well ;  but  cer 
tainly,  my  dear  Leo,  I  never  saw  you  look  more 
lovely  than  to-day." 

"Just  now  Kittie's  perceptions  are  awry,  dazzled 
by  the  rose  light  that  wraps  her  world.  Has  Prince 
arrived  ?" 

"  Yes,  he  came  yesterday,  and  my  little  sister  is 
entirely  and  overwhelmingly  happy,  for  he  is  literally 
her  Prince.  Physically  he  is  much  improved  ;  has 
developed  surprisingly,  but  has  the  shy,  taciturn 
manner  of  a  student,  and  is,  I  fear,  a  hopeless  book 
worm." 

"  Why  should  his  literary  taste  disquiet  you  ?  He 
went  to  Germany  to  foster  his  scholarly  inclination." 

"  Why  ?  Why  should  a  man  apprentice  himself  to 
a  carpenter,  and  become  an  expert  joiner,  when  he  can 
never  obtain  the  tools  requisite  to  enable  him  to  work 
successfully  ?  His  aspirations  run  along  the  grooves 
of  science ;  and  after  dear  little  Kittie,  his  favorite  God 
dess  is  Biology.  Trained  in  the  laboratory  of  a  Ger 
man  scientist,  where  every  imaginable  facility  for  re 
searches  in  vivisection,  and  for  the  investigation  of  cer- 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  361 

tain  biological  problems  was  afforded  him,  lie  lands 
in  America  empty-handed,  and  behold  my  carpenter 
minus  tools." 

"  Having*  fitted  himself  for  the  profession,  you  surely 
will  not  attempt  now  to  discourage  or  dissuade  him." 

"  The  logic  of  impecuniosity  will  doubtless  accom 
plish  more  than  the  dissuasion  of  friends.  Microscopic 
inspection  of  red  and  white  corpuscles,  of  virus, 
tissues,  protoplasm  and  chlorophyl  is  probably  very 
interesting  to  lovers  of  microbes,  and  students  of 
segmentation,  bat  such  abstract  pursuits  appertain  to 
purple  and  fine  linen.  A  profession  means  much ;  but 
ability  to  practise,  infinitely  more.  Just  now  the 
paramount  problem  is,  how  Prince  can  best  make  his 
bread.  Six  months  ago,  he  was  prospectively  so  rich 
that  he  could  indulge  the  whim  of  blowing  scientific 
soap-bubbles  labelled  with  abstruse  symbols ;  at  pres 
ent,  necessity  directs  his  attention  to  paying  his  board 
bills." 

"  I  thought  a  liberal  allowance  had  been  settled  upon 
him,  and  ample  provision  made  for  his  future?" 

"  So  there  certainly  was,  on  paper ;  but  the  destruc 
tion  of  the  record  invalidated  the  gift." 

' '  All  the  world  knows  that  he  has  the  rights  of  an 
adopted  son." 

' '  All  the  world  knows  equally  well,  that  failing  to 
produce  the  will,  Prince  has  lost  his  legacy,  and  must 
enlist  in  the  army  of  'bread-winners  '." 

"  Then  what  becomes  of  '  Elm  Bluff '  and  its  fine 
estate?" 

"  They  descend  in  the  line  decreed  alike  by  law  and 
nature,  to  the  nearest  blood  relation." 

Leo  felt  the  blood  reddening  her  throat  and  cheeks, 
but  under  the  quick  glance  of  her  hazel  eyes,  his  hand 
some  face  always  en  garde  showed,  no  embarrassing 


362  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

consciousness.  Fearful  of  silence,  she  said  in  a  perplex 
ed  ,  inconsequent  tone : 

"  How  manifestly  unjust.    Poor  Kittie  !" 

"Why  poor  Kittie?  Her  beaming  face  is  eloquent 
repudiation  of  your  pity,  and  she  verily  believes  her 
blond-headed,  scholarly  Prince  a  bountiful  equivalent 
for  all  Croesus'  belongings.  Rich  little  Kittie  !  After 
all,  where  genuine  love  reigns,  worldly  environment 
matters  comparatively  little ;  love  makes  happiness, 
and  happiness  is  the  reconciler. " 

A  throb  of  pain  shook  the  woman's  heart  as  she 
realized  the  bitter  truth  that  he  spoke  from  an  expe 
rience  born  out  of  season;  that  he  was  athirst  for  that 
which  her  fortune,  her  love,  her  own  fair,  graceful  self 
could  never  give  him. 

She  looked  at  him,  with  an  arch  smile  lighting  her 
face,  but  he  saw  the  trembling  of  her  lips,  noted  the 
metallic  ring  in  her  voice. 

"  «  Et  in  Arcadia  Ego  f  Recent  associations  have 
rendered  you  idyllic.  I  can  recall  a  period  when 
'  love  in  a  cottage '  was  the  target  that  challenged  the 
keenest  arrows  of  your  satire.  Rich  little  Kittie  has 
my  warmest  congratulations.  Will  Prince  remain  in 
X ?" 

"  How  can  he  ?  The  demand  here  for  amateur  scien 
tists  is  not  sufficiently  encouraging ;  and  I  rather  think 
he  gravitates  toward  a  college  professorship,  which 
might  at  least  supply  him  abundantly  with  rabbits, 
turtles,  frogs  and  guinea-pigs  for^biological  manipula 
tion  and  experiment.  One  of  the  gay  balloons  floating 
through  his  mind,  is  a  series  of  lectures  to  be  delivered 
in  the  large  cities.  Heredity  is  his  pet  hobby,  and  he 
proposes  to  canter  it  under  the  saddle  of  Weismann's 
theory  (whatever  that  may  be),  expounding  it  to  scien 
tific  Americans.  As  yet  no  plans  have  crystallized. 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  363 

His  allowance  was  paid  semi-annually,  but  of  course  it 
failed  him  last  January,  and  no  alternative  presents 
itself  but  some  attempt  to  utilize  his  technical  lore. 

There  is  a  vacancy  in  the  faculty  of  C University, 

and  I  shall  write  at  once  to  the  board  of  trustees." 

Like  a  moth,  Leo  flitted  closer  to  the  flame. 

"  Will  he  make  no  attempt  to  secure  his  rights  ?" 

"  He  is  too  wise  to  waste  his  time  hi  so  fruitless  an 
endeavor." 

"  Have  you  advised  him  to  submit  tamely  to  the  de 
privation  of  his  fortune  ?" 

"  He  has  not  consulted  me,  but  Wolverton,  who  is 
his  cousin,  convinced  him  of  the  futility  of  any  legal 
proceedings." 

"  Does  General  Darrington's  granddaughter  under 
stand  that  Prince's  career  will  be  ruined  for  want  of 
the  money  to  which  he  is  entitled  ?" 

"  I  am  not  acquainted  with  the  views  Gen'l  Dar ring- 
ton's  granddaughter  entertains  concerning  Prince,  as 
I  have  not  seen  her  since  the  trial  ended.  Have  you  ?" 

Each  looked  steadily  at  the  other,  and  under  the 
gleam  of  his  eyes,  hers  fell,  and  her  color  flickered. 

"  I  went  once,  but  was  denied  admission.  Even  Sister 
Serena  sees  her  no  longer.  You  doubtless  know  that 
she  is  recovering  slowly  from  a  severe  attack  of  illness. " 

"  I  have  heard  nothing  since  the  night  she  was  con 
victed  and  sentenced.  To-day  I  found  a  message  at 
my  office  from  Singleton,  asking  me  to  call  at  my 
earliest  convenience  at  the  penitentiary,  on  a  matter 
of  legal  business.  To  what  it  refers,  I  know  not,  as  1 
came  immediately  here." 

There  was  a  brief  silence,  in  which  his  gaze  merci 
lessly  searched  her  fair,  proud  face;  then  with  a  su 
preme  effort  she  laid  her  hand  suddenly  on  his,  and 
looked  up  smiling : 


364:  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

"  I  believe  I  was  growing  very  impatient  over  your 
prolonged  absence  in  New  Orleans.  Time  dragged 
dismally,  and  I  was  never  more  rejoiced  than  when  I 
received  your  last  letter,  and  knew  that  I  should  see  you 
to-day.  Lennox,  I  have  set  my  heart  on  something, 
which  only  your  consent  and  acquiescence  will  secure 
to  me.  I  am  about  to  ask  for  a  mammoth  sugar-plum 
that  has  dangled  temptingly  before  my  eyes  for  nearly 
a  year,  and  I  shall  enjoy  it  the  more  if  you  bestow  it 
graciously.  Can  you  be  generous  and  indulge  my  self 
ish  whim?" 

He  felt  a  quiver  hi  the  cold  fingers  over  which  his 
warm  hand  closed,  saw  the  throbbing  of  the  artery  in 
her  white  throat,  the  ebbing  of  the  scarlet  in  lips  that 
bravely  held  their  coaxing,  smiling  curves,  and  he  knew 
that  the  crisis  he  had  long  foreseen  was  drawing  near. 

Leaning  closer,  he  looked  down  into  her  brown  eyes. 
The  end  must  come  ;  but  he  would  not  precipitate  it. 
Like  Francis  at  Pa  via,  he  acknowledged  to  himself  that 
all  was  lost,  save  honor. 

"  Whenever  my  Leo  convinces  me  she  can  be  selfish, 
I  promise  all  that  she  can  possibly  ask  ;  but  the  self 
ishness  must  first  be  incontrovertibly  established." 

He  had  never  been  dearer  to  her  than  at  that  mo 
ment,  when  his  brilliant  eyes  seemed  to  search  her 
soul  and  magnetize  her ;  yet  she  did  not  falter  ana 
the  aching  of  her  heart  was  a  goad  to  her  will. 

"  You  merely  shower  lesser  sugar-plums,  intending 
they  shall  surfeit.  Lennox,  you  know  how  often  I  have 
longed  to  make  the  journey  to  Greece,  Asia  Minor 
and  Egypt ;  you  remember  I  have  repeatedly  expressed 
the  wish  ?  You—" 

"  Pardon  me,  sweetheart,  but  this  is  the  first  time  I 
ever  heard  it." 

"  You  forget.     At  last  the  consummation  unfolds 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  3G5 

itself  as  smoothly  as  the  fourth  act  of  a  melodrama. 
My  friend  and  schoolmate,  Alma  Cutting,  of  New 
York,  invites  a  small  party  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  to 
accompany  her  in  a  cruise  through  the  Levant,  on  her 
father's  new  and  elegant  steam  yacht '  Cleopatra'.  I 
have  pressing  letters  from  Alma  and  Mr.  Cutting, 
kindly  urging  me  to  join  them  hi  New  York  by  tiie 
first  of  May,  at  which  time  they  expect  to  start  on  a 
preliminary  cruise  through  the  North  and  Baltic  seas  ; 
drifting  southward  so  as  to  reach  Sicily  and  Malta  as 
soon  as  cool  weather  permits.  Do  you  wonder  that  so 
charming  and  picturesque  a  tour  tempts  me  sorely?" 

Unconsciously  she  had  hurried  her  enunciation,  but 
imperturbable  as  the  bronze  he  resembled,  Mr.  Dunbar 
listened  ;  merely  passing  his  left  arm  around  her,  draw 
ing  her  resisting  form  closer  to  him,  holding  her  firmly. 

"  I  am  waiting  for  the  selfish  aspect  of  this  scheme, 
else  I  should  answer  at  once,  the  coveted  sugar-plum 
is  yours,  and  we  will  make  the  tour  whenever  you 
like,  with  the  minor  difference  of  mere  details  ;  we  will 
go  hi  our  own  yacht." 

She  caught  her  breath,  and  for  an  instant  the  world 
swam  in  a  burst  of  dazzling  light.  Beyond  the  reach 
of  the  usurper's  witchery,  was  it  not  possible  that  she 
might  regain  the  alienated  heart  ?  Love  chanted,  it  is 
worth  the  trial ;  take  him  away,  win  him  back.  Pride 
sternly  set  foot  upon  this  spark  of  hope,  with  cruel  in 
sistence  answering  :  his  love  has  never  been  yours ;  de 
frauded  of  the  diamond,  will  you  accept  and  patiently 
wear  paste  ?  The  quick  revulsion  was  tantalizing  as 
would  have  been  the  vanishing  of  the  ram  from  Abra 
ham's  gladdened  sight;  the  swift  withdrawal  of  Diana's 
stag  into  the  miraculous  cloud  at  Aulis. 

"  That  would  be  too  severe  a  tax  upon  your  good 
nature  and  indulgence,  and  involves  a  sacrifice  of  your 


366  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

professional  plans,  which  I  certainly  am  not  so  in 
tensely  and  monstrously  selfish  as  to  permit  you  to 
make.  I  am  so  well  aware  of  the  reasons  that  neces 
sitate  your  remaining'  in  America,  in  order  to  seen  re 
the  appointment  you  are  laboring1  to  obtain,  that  I  re 
fuse  the  sugar  plum  if  bought  with  your  disappoint 
ment." 

"  Selfishness  not  established ;  you  must  plead  on 
some  better  ground.  Suppose  that  the  happiness  of 
the  woman  who  has  done  me  the  honor  to  promise  me 
her  hand,  is  just  now  ray  supreme  aim,  paramount  to 
every  other  ambitious  scheme ;  and  that  to  insure  it,  I 
hazard  all  else  ?  Remember  the  privilege  of  choice  is 
mine." 

It  was  the  instinct  not  of  affection,  but  of  honor 
straining  hard  to  hold  him  to  his  allegiance,  and  her 
proud  spirit  thrilled  under  the  consciousness  of  his 
motive  in  striving  to  spare  her.  A  crimson  spot 
burned  on  each  cheek,  a  spark  kindled  in  the  soft,  ten 
der  eyes.  She  struggled  to  free  herself,  but  his  clasp 
tightened. 

"  Conceding  the  gsnerosity  that  would  impel  you  to 
immolate  your  feelings,  in  order  to  gratify  my  wishes, 
I  decline  the  sacrifice.  You  must  indulge  my  desire 
to  receive  my  sugar  plum  in  the  bonbonniere  of  the 
*  Cleopatra'." 

He  pressed  her  sunny  head  against  his  shoulder, 
and  rested  his  cheek  on  hers. 

"  Is  it  my  Leo's  wish  to  leave  me,  to  go  alone  ?" 

"Yes,  to  accompany  Alma." 

"  For  an  absence  of  indefinite  duration  ?" 

"  Certainly  for  a  year ;  possibly  longer ;  but  you 
must  be  gracious  in  yielding.  If  you  really  desire  to 
promote  my  happiness,  let  me  go  feeling  that  you  con 
sent  freely." 


AT  THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  367 

He  comprehended  fully  all  that  he  was  surrendering, 
the  noble,  pure,  devoted  heart ;  the  refining-,  elevating 
companionship,  the  control  of  a  liberal  fortune,  the 
proud  distinction  of  calling  her  his  wife  ;  and  yet  above 
the  refrain  of  many  mingled  regrets,  he  felt  an  infinite 
relief  that  he  had  been  spared  the  responsibility  of  the 
estrangement. 

"  Whatever  your  happiness  demands,  I  cannot  re 
fuse  to  concede,  but  you  can  scarcely  require  me  to 
receive  '  graciously '  the  only  construction  I  can  pos 
sibly  place  upon  your  request ;  that  I  am  no  longer 
an  essential  element  in  your  happiness." 

Knowing  that  he  owed  her  every  possible  reparation, 
he  was  resolved  to  shield  her  womanly  pride  from  any 
additional  wounds.  He  withdrew  his  encircling  arm, 
released  her  hand,  walked  to  the  end  of  the  aviary,  and 
stood  watching  the  shimmer  of  the  fountain,  where 
two  of  the  ring-doves  held  their  wings  aslant  to  catch 
the  spray.  After  some  moments  she  joined  him,  and 
laid  her  slender  fingers  on  his  arm. 

"  Dear  Lennox,  I  propose  at  least  a  temporary  change 
in  our  relations,  and  even  at  the  risk  of  incurring  your 
displeasure,  I  prefer  to  be  perfectly  frank.  When  you 
asked  me  to  become  your  wife,  neither  of  us  contem 
plated  the  long  separation  involved  in  this  cruise  abroad, 
which  I  ardently  desire  for  many  reasons  to  make; 
and  I  am  unwilling  to  fetter  either  you  or  myself  by  an 
engagement  during  my  absence.  I  want  to  be  entirely 
free,  bound  by  no  promise ;  and  could  I  ask  release, 
unless  you  accepted  yours  ?" 

He  put  his  palm  under  her  chin,  and  lifted  the  sweet, 
pure  face,  forcing  her  to  return  his  gaze. 

"  Have  I  forfeited  your  confidence  ?" 

"  No,  Lennox.  I  have  an  indestructible  faith  in  youi 
honor." 


368  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

Her  clear,  truthful  eyes  assured  him  she  acquitted 
him  of  all  intention  to  violate  in  any  jot  or  tittle  the 
forms  of  his  allegiance. 

"  You  deem  me  incapable  of  intentionally  betraying 
your  noble  trust?" 

"  I  do— indeed  I  do." 

"  My  peerless  Leo,  have  you  ceased  to  love  me  ?" 

She  shut  her  eyes  an  instant,  and  the  delicate,  flower 
face  blanched ;  the  treacherous  lips  quivered  : 

"No." 

"  Who  has  supplanted  me  in  your  heart,  for  once  1 
know  it  was  all  my  own?" 

"  Lennox,  you  are  still  more  to  me  than  all  the  world 
beside ;  but  I  ask  time,  I  must  be  free  at  present.  Let 
me  go  away  untrammelled  ;  consider  yourself  as  unfet 
tered,  as  before  our  engagement,  and  when  the  year 
expires,  if  you  deem  me  absolutely  necessary  to  your 
happiness,  you  can  readily  ask  a  renewal  of  your  bonds, 
and  I  can  be  sure  by  that  time  whether  my  happiness 
depends  upon  becoming  your  wife.  After  to-day  I 
shall  not  wear  your  ring ;  and  if,  while  away,  I  send  it 
back  to  yoii;  interpret  it  as  a  final  decision  that  in  the 
future  we  can  only  be  very  faithful  and  attached  friends. 
I  have  sadly  mistaken  your  character  if  you  refuse  me 
release  from  a  compact  which  I  now  certainly  desire  to 
cancel." 

A  shadow  fell  over  his  face,  and  he  sighed  heavily ; 
but  whether  the  utterance  of  regret  or  relief  she  never 
knew. 

"Your  heart  shall  no  longer  be  burdened  by  bonds 
which  I  can  loosen.  Because  your  peace  and  happiness 
are  more  to  me  than  my  own,  I  grant  you  complete 
release.  When  my  ring  affronts  you  with  disagreeable 
memories  of  a  past,  which  will  always  be  hallowed  and 
precious  to  me,  as  the  one  beautiful  dream  that  bright 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  369 

ened  my  youth,  that  crowned  me  for  a  season  at  least 
with  the  trust  and  love  of  the  noblest  woman  I  have 
ever  known,  do  not  return  it ;  let  it  slip  from  the  hand 
it  made  my  own,  and  find  in  the  blue  sea  a  grave  as 
deep  as  the  chasm — that  you  will — shall  divide  our 
lives.  I  honor  you  too  profoundly  to  question  your 
course  ;  yet  there  is  an  explanation  which  I  owe  to  my 
self  as  well  as  to  you.  Leo,  nq  man  can  ever  be  worthy 
to  call  you  wife,  but  perhaps  I  am  less  unworthy  than 
you  probably  deem  me  ?  While  in  New  Orleans,  I 
wrote  a  long  letter,  which  I  afterward  decided  not  to 
send  by  mail.  I  brought  it  to-day,  intending  to  put  it 
into  your  hand." 

He  took  from  the  inside  pocket  of  his  coat,  an  envel 
ope  addressed  to  her,  broke  the  seal  and  pointed  at  the 
head  of  the  sheet  to  the  date,  some  three  weeks 
earlier.  She  surmised  by  that  wonderful  instinct  which 
God  grants  women  as  armor  against  the  slow,  pond 
erous  aggressiveness  of  man's  tyranny,  the  nature  of 
its  contents.  Had  she  merely  anticipated  by  an  hour 
his  petition  for  release  ?  Even  the  bitterness  of  this 
conjecture  was  neutralized  by  the  testimony  it  bore  to 
his  integrity  of  purpose,  his  unwillingness  to  conceal 
his  disloyalty.  When  temples  are  shattered  and  altars 
crumble,  we  save  our  idol  and  flee  into  the  wilderness, 
exulting  in  the  assurance  that  no  clay  feet  defile  it. 

Leo  shook  her  head  and  gently  put  aside  the  proffered 
letter. 

"  You  wrote  it  for  the  eyes  of  one  who  had  pledged 
herself  to  bear  your  name;  the  revocation  of  that 
promise  annuls  my  right  to  read  it." 

Mr.  Dunbar  understood  the  apprehension  that  made 
her  shiver  slightly.  She  was  marching  away  proud] y 
v.'ith  flying  colors,  having  dictated  the  terms  of  his  ca 
pitulation.  Should  he  suffer  the  imputation  of  treach- 


370  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

cry  and  intentional  deception,  rather  than  turn  the  tide 
of  battle,  trail  her  banner  in  the  dust,  and  add  to  her 
pain  by  mortally  stabbing-  that  intense  womanly  pride 
which  now  swallowed  up  every  emotion  of  her  soul  ? 

The  more  thoroughly  chivalrous  a  man's  nature,  the 
keener  his  craving  for  the  honors  of  war. 

"  Because  henceforth  our  paths  diverge,  I  prefer  to 
offer  you  my  exculpation,  desiring  amid  the  general 
wreck,  to  retain  at  least  your  undiminished  esteem. 
Will  you  read  my  confession  ?" 

"  No ;  that  would  entail  the  necessity  of  absolution, 
and  I  might  not  be  able  to  command  the  requisite 
amiability,  should  occasion  demand  it.  We  have 
shaken  hands  with  the  past,  and  you  owe  me  nothing 
now  but  pardon  for  any  pain  I  may  have  given  you, 
and  occasional  kind  thoughts  when  the  ocean  divides 
us.  I  promise  you  my  unwavering  esteem ;  in  exchange 
grant  me  your  cordial  friendship." 

She  was  growing  strangely  white,  and  her  breath 
fluttered,  but  eyes  and  lips  came  to  the  rescue  with  a 
steadfast  smile. 

"  You  allow  me  no  alternative  but  submission  to 
your  will ;  yet  remember,  dear  Leo,  that  in  surrendering 
your  pledged  faith,  I  hold  myself  as  free  from  any  in 
tentional  forfeiture,  as  on  the  day  you  gave  me  your 
promise." 

11  In  token  that  I  believe  it,  I  salute  and  wear  your 
roses." 

She  bent  her  head,  touched  with  her  lips  the  flowers 
at  her  throat,  and  smiling1  bravely,  held  out  both 
hands.  He  took  them,  joined  the  palms,  and  kissed 
her  softly,  reverently  on  the  forehead. 

"God  bless  you,  dear  Leo.  To  have  known  so 
intimately  a  nature  as  noble  and  exalted  as  yours, 
has  left  an  indelible  impression  for  good  upon  my 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS  371 

life,  which  must  henceforth  be  very  lonely.  Good 
bye." 

With  beat  of  drum,  and  blare  of  bugles,  pride 
claimed  the  victory ;  but  as  Leo  watched  the  tall,  fine 
form  pass  out  from  the  beautiful  home  she  had  fondly 
hoped  to  share  with  him,  she  clasped  her  hands  across 
her  lips  to  stifle  the  cry  that  told  how  dearly  she  had 
bought  the  semblance  of  triumph. 

When  the  quick  echo  of  his  horse's  hoofs  died  away, 
she  went  swiftly  to  her  writing  desk. 

"Dear  Uncle:  Please  send  the  enclosed  telegram  to 
Mr.  Cutting.  I  had  a  sad  but  decisive  interview  with 
Mr.  Dunbar,  and  after  obtaining  his  consent  to  my 
tour,  we  thought  it  best  to  annul  our  engagement. 
Tell  Aunt  Patty,  and  spare  me  all  questions.  I  have 
not  been  hasty,  and  I  asked  to  be  released,  because  I 
have  deemed  it  best  to  leave  him-  entirely  free." 

Sealing  the  note  she  rang  for  Justine. 

"  Take  this  to  my  uncle's  study,  and  tell  Andrew  to 
bring  my  phaeton  to  the  door  at  four  o'clock.  Until 
then,  see  that  no  one  disturbs  me." 

With  averted  face  she  held  out  the  envelope,  then  the 
curtain  fell ;  and  in  solitude  the  aching  heart  went  over 
the  fatal  field,  silently  burying  its  slain  hopes,  realizing 
the  bitterness  of  its  Cadmean  victory. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

"  /CERTAINLY,  Prince,  I  understand  your  motives 

^     and  applaud  your  decision,  which  is  creditable 

alike  to  your  heart  and  head.     At.  father's  death  he 

confided  Kittie  to  my  guardianship,  and  I  cannot  con- 


372  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

sent  to  her  scheme  of  going  abroad  with  you,  until 
your  studies  have  been  completed.  She  has  a  few 
thousands,  it  is  true,  but  her  slim  fortune  would  not 
suffice  to  accomplish  your  scientific  object,  and  even  if 
it  were  larger,  you  are  quite  right  to  'decline  with 
thanks'.  Kittie  must  be  patient,  and  you  must  be  firm, 
for  you  are  both  quite  young  enough  to  afford  to  wait  a 
few  years.  Loving  little  heart !  She  longed  to  aid  you, 
and  this  was  the  only  method  that  presented  itself.  If 
we  can  secure  the  commission  I  mentioned  last  week, 
your  marriage  need  only  be  deferred  until  Kittie  is 
twenty-one.  After  all,  Prince,  when  you  bartered  your 
name  and  became  a  Darrington,  for  sake  of  this  fair 
heritage,  you  only  accomplished  early  in  life  that  into 
which  sooner  or  later  all  men  are  betrayed,  the  sale  of 
a  birthright  for  a  mess  of  pottage ;  the  clutching  at  the 
shadowy  present,  thereby  losing  the  substantial  future." 

"  On  that  score  I  indulge  no  regrets.  General  Dar 
rington  was  the  only  father  I  ever  knew,  and  since  it 
was  his  wish,  I  shall  gladly  wear  the  name  with  which 
he  endowed  me,  in  grateful  recognition  of  the  affection, 
confidence  and  generous  kindness  he  lavished  upon  me. 
That  the  rich  legacy  he  designed  for  me  has  been 
diverted  into  the  channel  of  all  others  most  repugnant 
to  him,  is  my  misfortune,  not  his  fault ;  for  he  took 
every  possible  precaution  to  secure  my  inheritance. 
Had  I  been  indeed  his  own  son,  he  could  not  have  done 
more,  and  I  have  a  son's  right  to  mourn  sincerely  over 
his  cruel  and  untimely  end." 

The  two  men  sat  on  the  front  steps  at  "  Elm  Bluff  ", 
and  asPrince's  eyes  wandered  over  the  exceeding  beauty 
of  the  ' *  great  greenery  "  of  velvet  lawn,  t  IK-  stately, 
venerable  growth  of  forest  trees,  wearing  the  adolescent 
mask  of  tender  young  foliage,  the  outlying  fields  flank 
ing  the  park,  the  sunny  acres  now  a  wave  witiL 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  373 

crinkling  mantles  of  grain,  he  sighed  very  heavily  at 
the  realization  of  all  that  adverse  fortune  had  snatched 
away. 

Blond  as  Baldur  of  the  Voluspa,  with  a  wealth  rf 
golden  brown  beard  veiling  his  lips  and  chin,  he  ap 
peared  far  more  than  six  years  the  junior  of  the  clear- 
cut,  smoothly  shaven  face  that  belonged  to  his  prospec 
tive  brother-in-law ;  and  their  countenances  contrasted 
as  vividly  as  the  portraiture  of  bland  phlegmatic  Norse 
uEsir,  with  some  bronze  image  of  Mercury,  as  keenly 
alert  as  his  sacred  symbolic  cocks. 

Strolling  leisurely  through  the  flowery  decoying 
fields,  that  beckon  all  around  the  outskirts  of  the  vast, 
lonely  wilderness  of  positive  Science,  the  dewy  fresh 
ness  of  the  youthful  amateur  still  clung  to  Prince's 
garments ;  even  as  souvenirs  gathered  by  flitting  Sum 
mer  tourists  prattle  of  glimpses  of  wild,  towering  fast 
nesses,  where  strewn  bones  of  martyr  pioneers  whiten 
as  monuments  of  failure.  In  the  guise  of  a  green-kirtled 
enchantress,  with  wild  poppies  and  primroses  wreathed 
above  her  starry  eyes,  Science  was  luring  him  through 
the  borderland  of  her  kingdom,  toward  that  dark,  chill, 
central  realm  where,  transformed  as  a  gnome,  she 
clutches  her  votaries,  plunges  into  the  primeval  abyss 
—the  matrix  of  time— and  sets  them  the  Egyptian  task 
of  weighing,  analyzing  the  Titanic  "  potential "  energy, 
the  infinitesimal  atomic  engines,  the  "  kinetic  "  force, 
the  chemical  motors,  the  subtle  intangible  magnetic 
currents,  whereby  in  the  thundering,  hissing,  whirling 
laboratory  of  Nature,  nebulae  grow  into  astral  and  solar 
systems ;  the  prophetic  floral  forms  of  crystals  become, 
after  disintegration,  instinct  with  organic  vegetable 
germs,— and  the  Sphinx  Life— blur-eyed— deaf,  blind, 
sets  forth  on  her  slow  evolutionary  journey  through  the 
wastes  of  aeons ;  mounting  finally  into  that  throne  of 


374:  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

rest  fore-ordained  through  groping  ages,  crov.  nod 
with  the  soul  of  Shakspeare,  sceptred  with  the  brain  oi 
Newton. 

Like  a  child  with  some  Chinese  puzzle  far  beyond  the 
grasp  of  his  smooth,  uncreased  baby  brain,  Prince 
played  in  unfeigned  delight  with  his  problem  : — "  Given 
the  Universe ;  to  explain  the  origin  and  permanence  of 
Law,"  without  any  assistance  from  the  exploded  hy 
pothesis  of  a  law  maker.  Equipped  with  hammer,chisel, 
microscope,  spectroscope  and  crucibles,  he  essayed  the 
solution,  undismayed  by  memories  of  his  classics,  of 
Sisyphus  and  Tantalus  ;  seeing  only  the  nodding  pop 
pies,  the  gilded  primroses  of  his  dancing  goddess. 

Will  he  discover  ere  long,  that  a  lesser  riddle  would 
have  been  to  stand  in  the  manufactory  of  the  Faubourg 
St.  Marcel,  and  abolishing  the  pattern  of  the  designers, 
the  directing  touch  of  Lebrun,  the  restraint  of  the  heddle, 
demand  that  the  blind,  insensate  automatic  warp  and 
woof  should  originate,  design  and  trace  as  well  as 
mechanically  execute  the  weaving  of  the  marvellous 
tapestries  ? 

"  Prince,  I  learn  from  Kittie  that  you  visited  the 
penitentiary  last  week." 

"  Yes.  I  could  not  resist  the  curiosity  to  see  the 
author  of  my  recent  misfortunes ;  but  I  regret  the 
sight.  I  am  haunted  by  the  painful  recurrence  of  that 
blanched,  hopeless,  beautiful  face,  which  reminds  me 
of  a  pathetic  picture  I  saw  abroad — Charlotte  Corday 
peering  through  the  bars  of  her  dungeon  window." 

"  With  a  difference  surely  !  Marat's  murderess 
gloried  in  her  crime ;  an  innocent  prisoner  languishes 
yonder,  in  that  stone  cage  beyond  the  river." 

Mr.  Dunbar  pointed  over  the  billowing  sea  of  green 
tree  tops,  toward  an  irregular  dark  shadow  that 
blurred  the  northern  sky  line;  and  his  eagle  eyes 
darkened  as  they  discerned  the  prison  outlines. 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  375 

"  Did  you  ever  see  a  sketch  of  Rossetti's  '  Pandora '?" 
asked  Prince. 

"No." 

*  '  The  face  is  somewhat  like  that  young-  prisoner's  ; 
the  same  mystical,  prescient  melancholy  in  the  wide 
eyes,  as  if  she  realized  she  was  predestine  to  work  woe. 
I  am  heartily  glad  I  was  spared  the  pain  of  the  pros 
ecution,  for  had  I  been  here,  compassion  would  almost 
have  paralyzed  the  effort  to  secure  justice ;  and  now, 
while  my  loss  is  irreparable,  the  law  insures  punish 
ment  for  father's  wrongs.  As  I  walk  about  this  dear 
old  place,  which  he  intended  I  should  possess,  and  re 
call  all  that  we  had  planned,  it  seems  hard  indeed  that 
I  find  myself  so  unable  to  execute  his  wishes.  After 
a  few  days,  when  I  shall  leave  it,  I  suppose  that  for  the 
next  five  years  the  house  will  become  an  owl  roost  and 
den  of  bats  and  spiders.  On  Thursday  I  go  temporarily 
to  Charleston  to  visit  my  uncle,  Doctor  Thornton,  who 
offers  me  a  place  in  his  office,  and  a  home  at  his  hearth 
stone." 

"  Why  specifically  for  five  years  ?" 

"  That  is  the  term  of  her  imprisonment.  At  the  ex 
piration  of  her  sentence,  I  presume  Gen.  Darrington's 
granddaughter  will  hasten  to  take  possession  of  her 
dearly-bought  domain." 

A  derisive  smile  unbent  the  tight  lines  of  the  lawyer's 
mouth. 

' '  Come  here  to  live  ?  She  would  sooner  spring  into 
the  jaws  of  hell !" 

Prince  Darrington's  large  light  eyes  opened  wide,  in 
a  questioning  stare. 

"  If  she  is  innocent,  as  you  believe,  why  should  she 
shrink  from  occupying  the  family  homestead  ?  If  she 
be  guilty,  which  I  (having  seen  her)  cannot  credit,  there 
is  no  probability  that  remorseful  scruples  would  influ- 


376  AT   THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

ence  her.  No  conceivable  contingency  can  ever  again 
make  it  my  home,  and  on  Thursday  I  go  away  for 
ever." 

"  That  which  a  man  claims  and  expects,  generally 
deserts  and  betrays  him ;  it  is  the  unforeseen,  the  unex 
pected  that  comes  hi  the  form  of  benediction.  Time  is 
the  master  magician,  and  '  Tout  vient  a  qui  sait  at- 
tendre'.  Kittie  may  yet  trail  her  velvet  robe  as  chate 
laine  through  these  noble  old  halls  and  galleries. 
Come  to  my  office  at  ten  o'clock  to-morrow;  I  may 
have  an  answer  to  my  letter  to  Doctor  Balfour." 

Six  months  before,  Mr.  Dunbar  had  walked  down 
these  steps,  mounted  his  horse  and  hurried  away  to 
keep  tryst  with  the  fair,  noble  woman,  whose  promised 
hand  was  the  guerdon  of  ambitious  schemes,  and  years 
of  patient,  persistent  wooing.  To-day  he  rode  slowly  to 
a  parting  interview,  which  would  sever  the  last  link 
that  had  so  long  held  their  lives  in  tender  association. 
Whatever  of  regret  mingled  with  the  contemplation  of 
his  ruined  matrimonial  castle,  lay  hidden  so  deep  in  the 
debris,  that  no  faintest  reflection  was  visible  in  his  in 
scrutable  face. 

When  he  reached  the  railway  station  where  a  special 
car  containing  a  small  party,  awaited  the  arrival  of 
the  north  bound  train  that  would  attach  it  to  its  sinu 
ous  length,  a  number  of  friends  had  assembled  to  say 
good-bye  to  the  departing  favorite.  The  announce 
ment  of  Miss  Gordon's  extended  yachting  trip,  had 
excited  much  comment  in  social  circles,  and  while 
people  wondered  at  the  prolongation  of  the  engage 
ment,  none  but  her  immediate  family  suspected  that 
the  betrothal  had  been  cancelled. 

Leo's  wonted  gracious  composure  betrayed  no  hint 
of  the  truth,  and  she  greeted  Mr.  Dunbar  with  out 
stretched  hand  and  a  friendly  smile. 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  377 

"  I  am  Indebted  to  your  kind  courtesy,  Lennox,  for 
the  most  auspicious  omen  at  the  outset  of  my  long 
journey ;  and  I  shall  not  attempt  to  tell  you  how  cor 
dially  I  appreciate  your  tasteful  souvenir.  Your 
roses  are  exquisite,  and  fragrant  as  the  message  they 
bring  me." 

She  glanced  up  at  a  large  horseshoe  made  of  her  favor 
ite  pink  roses,  which  had  been  hung  by  a  silver  wire 
directly  over  the  seat  she  occupied. 

* '  Will  you  give  me  your  interpretation  of  their  mes 
sage?'' 

He  swept  aside  a  shawl  and  reticule,  and  sat  down 
beside  her. 

"It  is  written  legibly  all  over  their  lovely  petals. 
You  wish  me  a  rose-strewn  itinerary,  all  conceivable 
forms  of  '  good  luck ';  as  though  you  stood  on  tip-toe 
and  shouted  after  me:  *  Gliick  auf.'  As  a  happy 
augury,  I  accept  it.  Like  the  old  Romans,  you  have 
offered  up  for  me  a  dainty  sacrifice  to  propitiate  Domi- 
duca — the  goddess  who  grants  travellers  a  safe  return 
home." 

' '  Meanwhile  I  hope  you  see  quite  as  clearly,  that  the 
thorns  have  all  been  stripped  off  and  set  thickly  along 
my  path?" 

Her  smiling  eyes  met  his  steadily,  and  the  brave 
heart  showed  no  quailing. 

"  If  I  imagine  that  complimentary  inference  is  writ 
ten  between  the  lines,  is  it  not  pardonable  to  welcome 
the  assurance  that  you  will  sometimes  be  sharply 
pricked  into  remembrance  of  your  absent  friend  ?" 

At  this  moment,  with  clanging  bells  and  thundering 
wheels  the  train  swept  in,  and  Leo  rose  to  exchange 
last  greetings  with  numerous  friends.  Judge  Dent 
and  Miss  Patty  accompanied  her  as  far  as  New  York, 
and  when  the  car  had  been  coupled  at  the  end  of  the 


378  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

long  line,  and  all  was  in  readiness,  Mr.  Dunbar  took 
his  companion's  hand. 

"  When  we  parted  last,  I  was  angry  and  hasty. 
Now  I  desire  to  make  one  farewell  request.  You  ask 
a  release  from  our  engagement.  I  grant  it.  I  hold 
you  perfectly  free ;  but  I  will  consider  myself  bound, 
pledged  to  you  until  the  expiration  of  one  year. 
Nothing  you  can  say  shall  alter  my  determination;  but 
twelve  months  hence,  if  you  can  trust  your  happiness" 
to  my  hands,  send  me  this  message :  '  I  wear  your 
ring.'  Once  more  I  offer  you  my  letter  of  confession. 
Will  you  receive  it  now  ;  will  you  look  into  the  heart 
which  I  have  bared  for  your  scrutiny  ?" 

"No.  I  voluntarily  forfeited  that  right,  when  I 
asked  my  freedom.  If  your  letter  contains  aught  that 
would  change  my  high  regard,  my  confidence,  my  af 
fectionate  interest  in  your  happiness,  I  am  doubly 
anxious  to  avoid  acquaintance  with  its  contents.  You 
have  long  held  the  first  place  in  my  esteem,  why  seek 
to  impair  my  valuation  of  your  character  ?  Let  us  be 
friends,  now  and  forever." 

"Remember  you  broke  your  fetters;  I  hug  mine— 
a  year  longer.  Forget  me  if  you  will ;  but  Leo,  when 
your  heart  refuses  to  be  strangled,  suffer  its  cry  to 
reach  me.  Whatever  the  future  may  decree,  you  shall 
always  be  my  noble  ideal  of  exalted  womanhood,  my 
own  proud,  sensitive,  unselfish  Leo;  and  from  the 
depth  of  my  heart  I  wish  you  a  pleasant  tour,  and  a 
safe  and  speedy  return." 

A  premonitory  thrill  shook  the  car,  and  dropping 
the  fingers  that  lay  cold  as  marble  in  his,  Mr.  Dunbar 
swung  himself  to  the  station  platform.  The  tram 
moved  off,  but  he  knew  that  it  would  return  in  switch 
ing,  and  so  he  stood  hat  in  hand. 

As  it  slowly  glided  back,  he  stepped  close  to  the  open 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  379 

window,  and  Leo's  last  look  at  the  man  she  had  loved 
so  long-  and  well,  showed  him  with  the  sun  shining  on 
his  superb  form,  and  coldly  locked  face.  He  saw  her 
hazel  eyes  dim  in  their  mist  of  unshed  tears,  and  the 
sweet,  blanched  lips  trembling-  from  the  spasm  that  held 
her  heart.  She  leaned  down,  laid  her  hand  on  his 
shoulder. 

"  Dear  Lennox,  open  your  hand  carefully  ;  there — 
hold  it  close.  Good-bye." 

Into  his  palm  she  dropped  something-;  their  faces 
almost  touched,  eyes  met,  heart  looked  into  heart ;  then 
Leo  smiled  and  drew  back,  lowering-  her  veil,  and  as  the 
cars  shivered,  lurched,  moved  on,  Mr.  Dunbar  put  on 
his  hat  and  unclosed  his  fingers. 

The  white  fire  leaping  in  the  diamonds  destroyed 
the  last  vestige  of  a  betrothal,  that  he  had  once  re 
garded  as  the  summum  bonum  of  his  successful  career  ; 
consumed  in  its  incipiency  the  farewell  compact,  which 
his  regard  for  Leo's  womanly  pride,  and  an  honorable 
desire  to  cling  as  closely  as  possible  to  at  least  the 
loyal  forms  of  allegiance,  had  prompted  him  to  impose 
upon  himself. 

Apparently  unwounded,  sne  would  sail  away  victrix, 
with  gay  pennons  flying  through  distant  summer  seas, 
while  he  remained,  stranded  on  the  reefs  of  adverse 
fate,  a  target  for  cynical  society  batteries,  a  victim  of 
the  condolence  of  sympathizing  friends. 

In  reality  he  felt  the  benignant  touch  of  fortune  still 
upon  his  head,  and  thanked  her  heartily  that  Leo  had 
taken  the  initiative  ;  that  no  overt  act  of  disloyalty 
blurred  his  escutcheon,  and  above  all,  that  he  had  been 
spared  the  humiliation  of  acknowledging  his  inability 
to  resist  the  strange  fascination  that  dragged  him 
from  his  allegiance,  as  Auroras  swing-  the  needle  from 
the  pole.  He  did  not  attempt  to  underrate  the  vastness 


380  AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  . 

of  his  loss,  nor  to  condone  the  folly  which  he  designated 
as  ''infernal  idiocy";  yet  conscience  acquitted  him  of 
intentionally  betray  ing  the  trust  a  noble  woman  had  re 
posed  ;  and  his  vanity  was  appeased  by  the  conviction 
that  though  Leo  had  cast  him  out  of  her  life,  she  went 
abroad  because  she  loved  him  supremely.  Putting  the 
ring  in  his  pocket,  he  turned  away  as  from  a  grave  that 
had  closed  forever  over  that  which  once  held  all  the 
promise  of  life. 

Three  hours  later,  that  carefully  written  letter 
acknowledging  to  his  fiancee  that  his  heart  had 
i  ebelliously  swung  from  its  moorings,  under  the  mag 
netic  strain  of  another  woman ,  and  asking  her  tender 
forbearance  to  aid  him  in  conquering  a  weakness  for 
which  he  blushed,  had  been  reduced  to  a  drab  shadow 
on  his  office  hearth  ;  and  the  lawyer  was  engrossed  by 
the  preparation  of  a  testamentary  document,  which 
embraced  several  pages  of  legal  cap.  Again  and  again 
he  read  it  over,  pausing-  now  and  then  as  if  striving  to 
recall  some  invisible  scroll,  and  at  last  as  if  satisfied 
with  the  result,  placed  it  in  an  envelope,  thrust  it  into 
his  pocket,  and  once  more  mounted  his  horse.  The 
ceaseless  and  intense  yearning  to  see  again  the  young 
stranger,  who  seemed  destined  to  play  the  role  of  Ate 
in  so  many  lives,  would  no  longer  be  denied ;  and  at  a 
swift  gallop  he  took  the  road  leading  to  the  peniten 
tiary. 

Four  or  five  carriages  were  drawn  up  in  front  of  the 
iron  gate,  and  when,  in  answer  to  the  bell,  Jarvis, 
the  under-warden,  came  forward  to  admit  Mr.  Dunbar, 
he  informed  him  that  the  State  Inspectors  were  making 
a  tour  of  investigation  through  the  building. 

"  I  want  to  see  Singleton." 

"Just  now  he  is  engaged  showing  the  inspectors 
around,  and  they  generally  turn  everything  upside 


AT  THE   MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  381 

down,  and  inside  out.  If  you  will  step  into  the  office 
and  wait  awhile,  he  will  be  at  leisure." 

' l  Where  is  Mrs.  Singleton  ?" 

"  She  has  just  gone  into  the  women's  workroom.  One 
of  the  sewing  gang  is  epileptic,  and  fell  in  a  fit  a  few 
minutes  ago,  so  I  sent  for  her.  Come  this  way  and  I 
will  find  her/' 

The  visitor  hesitated,  drew  back. 

"  Is  Miss  Brentano  there  also  ?" 

"No.     She  is  still  on  the  infirmary  list." 

Jarvis  opened  the  door  of  a  long,  well-lighted  but 
narrow  room,  in  the  centre  of  which  was  a  table  ex 
tending  to  the  lower  end ;  and  on  each  side  of  it  sat 
women  busily  engaged  in  stitching  and  binding  shoes, 
and  finishing  off  various  articles  of  clothing ;  while  two 
were  ticketing  a  pile  of  red  flannel  and  blue  hickory 
shirts.  Four  sewing-machines  stood  near  the  wall 
where  grated  windows  admitted  sunshine,  and  their 
hymn  to  Labor  was  the  only  sound  that  broke  the  brood 
ing  silence.  The  room  was  scrupulously  clean  and  tidy, 
and  the  inmates,  wearing  the  regulation  uniform  of 
blue-striped  homespun,  appeared  comparatively  neat ; 
but  sordid,  sullen,  repulsively  coarse  and  brutish  were 
many  of  the  countenances  bent  over  the  daily  task, 
and  now  and  then  swift,  furtive  glances  from  downcast 
eyes  betrayed  close  kinship  with  lower  animals. 

At  one  of  the  machines  sat  a  woman  whose  age  could 
not  have  exceeded  twenty-eight  years,  with  a  figure  of 
the  Juno  type,  and  a  beautiful  dark  face  where  tawny 
chatoyant  eyes  showed  the  baleful  fire  of  a  leopard 
ess.  Winding  a  bobbin,  she  leaned  back  in  her  chair, 
with  the  indolent,  haughty  grace  of  a  sultana,  and  when 
si ic  held  the  bobbin  up  against  the  light  for  an  instant, 
her  slender  olive  hand  and  rounded  wrist  might  have 
belonged  to  Cleopatra. 


382  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"  Who  is  that  woman  winding  thread  ?" 

"  Her  name  is  Iva  Le  Bougeois,  but  we  call  her  the 
'  Bloody  Duchess '.  She  was  sent  up  here  two  years 
ago,  from  one  of  the  lower  counties,  for  wholesale 
butchery.  Seems  her  husband  got  a  divorce,  and  was 
on  the  eve  of  marrying  again.  She  posted  herself 
about  the  second  wedding,  and  managed  to  make  her 
way  into  the  parlor,  where  she  hid  behind  the  window 
curtains.  Just  as  the  couple  stood  up  to  be  married, 
she  cut  her  little  boy's  throat  with  a  razor,  dragged 
the  body  in  front  of  the  bride,  and  before  any  one  could 
move,  drew  a  revolver,  blew  the  top  of  her  husband's 
head  off,  and  then  shot  herself.  The  ball  passed 
through  her  shoulder  and  broke  her  arm,  but  as  you 
see,  she  was  spared,  as  many  another  wildcat  has  been. 
Her  friends  and  counsel  tried  to  prove  insanity,  but  the 
plea  was  too  thin ;  so  she  landed  here  for  a  term  of 
twenty  years,  and  it  will  take  every  day  of  it  to  cut  her 
claws.  She  is  as  hard  as  flint,  and  her  heart  is  as 
black  as  a  wolf's  mouth." 

"  Medea's  wrongs  generally  end  in  Medea's  crimes," 
answered  the  visitor ;  watching  the  defiant  poise  of  the 
small  shapely  head,  covered  with  crisp,  raven  locks. 
Having  less  acquaintance  with  the  classics  than  with  the 
details  of  prison  discipline,  the  under- war  den  stared. 

After  a  moment  he  pointed  to  a  diminutive  figure 
standing  at  the  end  of  the  long  table,  and  engaged  in 
folding  some  white  garments. 

"  See  that  pretty  little  thing,  with  the  yellow  head? 
Shouldn't  you  say  she  looks  like  an  angel,  and  ought 
to  be  put  on  the  altar  to  hear  the  prayers  of  sinners  ? 
Would  you  believe  she  is  a  mother?  Arson  is  her 
hobby.  She  is  a  regular  '  fire  bug '.  She  was  adopted 
by  a  German  couple,  and  one  night,  when  the 
old  farmer  had  come  home  with  the  money  paid  Mm 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  383 

for  his  sheep  and  hogs,  she  stole  the  last  cent  he  had, 
pocketed  all  the  old  frauds  silver  spoons,  poured  kero 
sene  around  the  floor,  set  fire  to  the  house  in  several 
places,  locked  the  door  and  ran  for  her  life.  A  peddler 
happened  to  seek  quarters  for  the  night,  and  finding-  the 
place  on  fire,  managed  to  break  through  the  windows 
and  save  the  old  folks  from  being  roasted  alive.  When 
the  case  came  to  trial  it  was  proved  that  she  had  set 
fire  to  two  other  buildings,  but  on  account  of  her  youth 
had  escaped  prosecution.  They  could  not  hang  her, 
though  she  deserve^  the  gallows,  and  her  child  was 
born  three  months  after  she  came  here.  Looks  inno 
cent  as  a  wax  doll  doesn't  she  ?  Eve  Werneth  she  calls 
herself;  and  she  is  well  named  after  the  original  mother 
of  all  sin.  She  is  Satan's  own  imp,  and  we  chain  her 
every  night,  for  she  boasts  that  when  things  grow  tire 
some  to  her  she  always  burns  her  way  out.  I  think 
she  is  the  worst  case  we  have,  except  the  young  mulat 
to — I  don't  see  her  here  just  now — who  was  sent  up 
for  life,  for  poisoning  a  baby  she  was  hired  to  nurse. 
There  is  Mrs.  Singleton." 

The  warden's  wife  came  forward  with  a  vial  in  one 
hand,  and  at  sight  of  the  visitor,  paused  and  held  out 
the  other. 

* '  How'dy  do,  Mr.  Dunbar.  You  are  waiting  to  see 
Ned?" 

11 1  much  prefer  seeing  you,  if  you  have  leisure  tor  an 
interview.  Singleton  can  join  us  when  the  inspectors 
take  their  leave." 

"Very  well;  come  up  stairs.  Jarvis,  send  Ned  up 
as  soon  as  you  can." 

She  led  the  way  to  the  room  where  her  two  children 
were  at  play,  and  breaking  a  ginger  cake  between 
them, dragged  their  toys  in  to  one  corner,  and  bade  them 
build  block  houses,  without,  a  riot. 


384  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

' '  I  have  never  received  even  a  verbal  i  eply  to  the 
note  which  I  requested  your  husband  to  place  in  Miss 
Brentano's  hands." 

"  Probably  you  never  will.  She  took  cold  by  being 
dragged  back  and  forth  to  court  during  that  freezing 
weather,  and  two  days  after  her  conviction  she  was 
taken  ill  with  pneumonia.  First  one  lung,  then  the 
other,  and  the  case  took  a  typhoid  form.  For  six 
weeks  she  could  not  lift  her  head,  and  now  though  she 
goes  about  my  rooms,  and  into  the  yard  a  little,  she  is 
awfully  shattered,  and  has  a  bad  .cough.  Once  when 
we  had  scarcely  any  hope,  she  asked  the  doctor  to  give 
her  no  more  medicine ;  said  that  it  would  be  a  mercy 
to  let  her  die.  Poor  thing  !  her  proud  spirit  is  as 
broken  as  her  body,  and  the  thought  of  being  seen 
seems  to  torture  her.  Dyce  is  the  only  person  whom 
she  allows  to  come  near  her." 

"  Where  is  she?" 

"  We  were  obliged  to  move  her,  after  she  was  sen 
tenced,  but  the  doctor  said  one  of  those  cells  down  stairs 
would  be  certain  and  quick  death  for  her,  with  her 
lungs  in  such  a  condition;  so  we  put  her  in  the  small 
est  room  on  this  floor ;  the  last  one  at  the  end  of  the 
corridor.  It  is  only  a  closet  it  is  true,  but  it  is  right  in 
the  angle,  and  has  two  narrow  slits  of  windows,  one 
opening  south,  the  other  west,  and  the  sunshine  gets 
in.  The  day  after  her  trial  ended,  she  sent  for  the 
sheriff,  who  happened  to  be  here,  and  asked  him  if 
solitary  confinement  was  not  considered  a  more  severe 
penalty  than  any  other  form  here  ?  When  he  told  her 
it  was,  she  said  :  Then  it  could  not  be  construed  into 
clemency  or  favoritism  if  you  ordered  me  into  solitary 
confinement  ?  Certainly  not,  he  told  her.  Whereupon 
she  begged  him  to  allow  her  to  bo  shut  up,  away  from 
the  others,  as  she  would  sooner  sit  in  the  dark  and  see 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  385 

no  human  being,  than  be  forced  to  associate  with  the 
horrible,  guilty  outcasts  down  stairs.  While  he  and 
Ned  were  consulting  about  her  case,  she  was  taken 
very  ill.  Of  course  you  know  Ned  has  a  good  deal  of 
latitude  and  discretion  allowed  him,  and  the  doctor  is 
on  our  side,  but  even  at  best,  the  ruies  are  stern.  She 
takes  her  meals  alone,  and  the  only  place  where  she 
meets  the  other  convicts— isn't  it  a  shame  to  call  her 
one  !  —  is  the  chapel ;  and  even  there  she  is  separated, 
because  Ned  has  given  her  charge  of  the  organ.  Every 
body  under  sentence  is  obliged  to  work,  but  she  does 
not  go  down  into  the  general  sewing  room.  The  super 
intendent  of  that  department  apportions  a  certain 
amount  of  sewing,  and  her  share  is  sent  up  daily  to  her. 
She  really  is  not  able  to  work,  but  begged  that  we 
should  give  her  some  employment." 

"She  consented  to  see  Mr.  Prince  Darrington?" 
'  *  Oh,  no  !  It  was  the  merest  accident  that  he  suc 
ceeded  in  speaking  to  her.  He  happened  to  come  the 
day  that  I  took  her  out  for  the  first  time  in  the  garden, 
for  a  little  fresh  air  in  the  sunshine  ;  and  we  met  him 
and  Ned  on  the  walk.  O,  Mr.  Dun  bar !  It  was  piti 
ful  to  see  her  face,  when  the  young  man  took  off  his 
hat,  and  said : 

"  'I  am  General  Darrington's  adopted  son.' 
"She  was  so  weak  she  had  been  leaning  on  me,  but 
she  threw  up  her  head,  and  her  figure  stiffened  into 
steel.  «  You  imagine  that  I  am  the  person  who  roi>ln?<l 
you  of  Gen'l  Darrington's  fortune  ?  I  suffer  for  cri  mos 
I  did  not  commit;  and  am  the  innocent  victim  selected 
to  atone  for  your  injuries.  My  wrongs  are  more  erurl 
than  yours.  You  merely  lost  lands  and  money.  Can 
you,  by  the  wildest  flight  of  fancy  conjecture  that  aught 
but  disgrace  and  utter  ruin  remain  for  me  ?'  Ned  and 
I  walked  away,  and  when  we  came  back  she  had  stepped 


386  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

into  the  hall,  and  drawn  the  inside  door  between  them. 
He  was  standing  bareheaded,  gazing1  up  at  her,  and  she 
was  looking  dow^ti  at  him  through  the  open  iron  lattice, 
as  if  he  were  the  real  culprit.  That  night  she  had  a 
nervous  chill  that  lasted  several  hours,  and  we  promised 
that  no  one  should  be  allowed  to  see  her.  Of  course  the 
inspectors  go  everywhere,  and  when  Ned  opened  her 
door,  I  was  with  her,  giving  her  the  tonic  the  Doctor 
ordered  three  times  a  day.  I  had  prepared  her  for  their 
visit,  but  when  the  gentlemen  crowded  in,  she  put  her 
hands  over  her  face  and  hid  it  on  the  table.  There  was 
not  a  syllable  uttered,  and  they  walked  out  quickly." 

"  Will  you  do  me  the  kindness  to  persuade  her  to  see 
me?" 

"  I  am  sure,  sir,  she  will  refuse;  because  she  desires 
most  especially  to  be  shielded  from  your  visits." 

"  Nevertheless,  I  intend  to  see  her.  Please  say  that  I 
am  here,  and  have  brought  the  papers  Mr.  Singleton 
desired  me  to  prepare  for  her." 

Ten  minutes  elapsed  before  the  warden's  wife  re 
turned,  shaking  her  head : 

"  She  prefers  not  seeing  you,  but  thanks  you  for 
the  paper  which  she  wishes  left  with  Mr.  Singleton. 
When  she  has  read  it,  Mr.  Singleton  will  probably 
bring  you  some  message.  She  hopes  you  will  believe 
that  she  is  very  grateful  for  your  attention  to  her 
request." 

"  Go  back  and  tell  her  that  unless  she  admits  me, 
she  shall  never  see  the  paper,  for  I  distinctly  decline 
to  put  it  in  any  hand  but  hers ;  and,  moreover,  t&l 
her  she  asked  me  to  obtain  for  her  a  certain  article 
which,  for  reasons  best  known  to  herself,  she  holds 
very  dear.  This  is  her  only  opportunity  to  receive 
it,  which  must  be  directly  from  me.  Say  that  this  is 
the  last  time  I  will  insist  upon  intruding,  and  after 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  387 

to-day  she  shall  not  be  allowed  the  privilege  of  refus 
ing  me  an  audience.  I  am  here  solely  in  her  behalf, 
and  I  am  determined  to  see  her  now." 

When  Mrs.  Singleton  came  back  the  second  time, 
she  appeared  unwontedly  subdued,  perplexed  ;  and 
her  usually  merry  eyes  were  gravely  fixed  with  curious 
intentness  upon  the  face  of  her  visitor. 

"The  room  straight  ahead  of  you,  with  the  door 
partly  open,  at  the  end  of  this  corridor.  She  sees 
you  '  only  on  condition  that  this  is  to  be  the  final  an 
noyance*.  Mr.  Dunbar,  you  were  born  to  tyrannize. 
It  seems  to  me  you  have  merely  to  will  a  thing,  in 
order  to  accomplish  it." 

"If  that  were  true,  do  you  suppose  I  would  allow 
her  to  remain  one  hour  in  this  accursed  cage  of  blood- 
smeared  criminals?" 

Down  the  dim  corridor  he  walked  slowly,  as  if  in  no 
haste  to  finish  his  errand,  stepped  into  the  designated 
cell,  and  closed  the  door  behind  him. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

n^HE  apartment  eight  by  twelve  feet  possessed  the 
redeeming  feature  of  a  high  ceiling,  and  on  either 
side  of  the  southwest  corner  wall,  a  window  only  two 
feet  wide  allowed  the  afternoon  sunshine  to  print  upon 
the  bare  floor  the  shadow  of  longitudinal  iron  bars 
fastened  into  the  stone  sills.  A  narrow  bedstead, 
merely  a  low  black  cot  of  interlacing  iron  straps, 
stood  against  the  eastern  side,  and  opposite,  a  broad 
shelf,  also  of  iron,  ran  along-  the  wall  and  held  a  tin 
ewer  and  basin,  a  few  books,  and  a  pile  of  clothing 
neatly  folded. 


388  AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

Across  the  angle  niche  between  the  windows  a  wood 
en  bench  had  been  drawn  ;  in  front  of  it  stood  a  chair 
and  oval  table,  on  which  lay  some  sheets  of  paper,  pen 
and  ink,  and  a  great  bunch  of  yellow  jasmine,  and  wild 
pink  azaleas  that  lavishly  sprinkled  the  air  with  their 
delicate  spicery.  Pencils,  crayons,  charcoal  and  several 
large  squares  of  cardboard  and  drawing-paper  were 
heaped  at  one  end  of  the  bench,  and  beside  these  sat 
the  occupant  of  the  cell,  leaning  with  folded  arms  on 
il  10  table  in  front  of  her;  and  holding  in  her  lap  the 
vicious,  ocelot-eyed  yellow  cat. 

Against  the  shimmering  glory  of  Spring  sunshine 
streaming  down  upon  her,  head  and  throat  were  out 
lined  like  those  of  haloed  martyrs  that  Mantegna  and 
Sodoma  left  as  imperishable  types  of  patient  suffering. 

When  the  visitor  came  forward  to  the  table  that 
barred  nearer  approach,  she  made  no  attempt  to  rise, 
and  for  a  moment  both  were  mute.  He  saw  the  noble 
head  shorn  of  its  splendid  coronal  of  braids,  and 
covered  thickly  with  short,  waving,  bronzed  tendrils  of 
silky  hair,  that  held  in  its  glistening  mesh  the  reddish 
lustre  of  old  gold,  and  the  deep  shadows  of  time-mel 
lowed  mahogany.  That  most  skilful  of  all  sculptors, 
hopeless  sorrow,  had  narrowed  to  a  perfect  oval  the 
wan  face,  waxen  in  its  cold  purity ;  and  traced  about 
the  exquisite  mouth  those  sad,  patient  curves  that  at 
test  suffering  which  sublimates,  that  belong  alone  to 
the  beauty  of  holiness.  Eyes  unusually  large  and 
shadowy  now,  beneath  their  black  fringes,  were  in 
describably  eloquent  with  the  pathos  of  a  complete, 
uncomplaining  surrender  to  woes  that  earth  could 
never  cure  ;  and  the  slender  wasted  fingers,  in  their 
bloodless  semi-transparency,  might  have  belonged  to 
some  chiselled  image  of  death.  Every  jot  and  tittle  of 
the  degrading  external  badges  of  felony  had  been 


I 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  389 

meted  out,  and  instead  of  the  mourning  garment  she 
had  Avorn  in  court,  her  dress  to-day  was  of  the  coarse 
dark-blue  home-spun  checked  with  brown,  which  con- 
stituted  the  prison  uniform  of  female  convicts. 

As  Mr.  Dunbar  noted  the  solemn  repose,  the  pa 
thetic  grace  with  which  she  endured  the  symbols  that 
emblazoned  her  ignominious  doom,  a  dark  red  glow 
suffused  his  face,  a  flush  of  shame  for  the  indignity 
which  he  had  been  impotent  to  avert. 

"  Who  dared  to  cut  your  hair — and  thrust  that  garb 
upon  you  ?  They  promised  me  you  should  be  exempt 
from  brands  of  felony." 

' '  When  one  is  beaten  with  many  stripes,  a  blow 
more  or  less  matters  little ;  is  not  computed.  They 
kindly  tell  me  that  illness  and  the  doctor's  commands 
cost  me  the  loss  of  my  hair  ;  and  after  all,  why  should 
T  object  to  the  convict  coiffure  ?  Nothing  matters  any 
more." 

"  Why  not  admit  at  once  that,  Berenice-like,  you 
freely  offered  up  your  beautiful  hair  as  love's  sacri 
fice  ?" 

He  spoke  hotly,  and  an  ungovernable  rage  possessed 
him  as  he  realized  that  though  so  near,  and  apparently 
so  helpless,  she  was  yet  so  immeasurably  removed,  so 
utterly  inaccessible.  Her  drooping  white  lids  lifted  ; 
she  looked  steadily  up  at  him,  and  the  mournful  eyes 
held  no  hint  of  denial.  He  stretched  his  hand  across 
the  table,  and  all  the  gnawing  hunger  at  his  heart 
leaped  into  his  voice,  that  trembled  with  entreaty. 

"  For  God's  sake  give  me  your  hand  just  once,  as 
proof  that  you  forgive  my  share  in  this  cruel,  das 
tardly  outrage." 

"  Do  not  touch  me.  When  we  shake  hands  it  must 
be  as  seal  upon  a  very  sacred  compact,  which  you 
are  not  yet  ready  to  make." 


390  AT   THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

She  straightened  herself,  and  her  hands  were  re 
moved  from  the  table  ;  fell  to  stroking"  the  cat  lying  on 
her  knee. 

"  What  conditions  would  you  impose  upon  me  ?" 

"  Sit  down,  Mr.  Dunbar,  and  let  us  transact  the 
necessary  business  which  alone  made  this  interview 
possible." 

With  an  imperious  gesture,  befitting  some  sovereign 
who  reluctantly  accords  audience,  she  motioned  him 
to  the  chair,  and  as  he  seated  himself  his  eyes  gleamed 
ominously. 

"  It  pleases  you  to  ignore  our  past  relations  ?" 

"  Even  so.  To-day  we  meet  merely  as  attorney  and 
client  to  arrange  the  final  quid  pro  quo.  You  have 
brought  the  paper  ?" 

"  I  inferred  from  your  message  that  you  desired  as 
exact  a  copy  as  memory  permitted.  Here  it  is." 

He  took  from  his  pocket  a  long  legal  envelope. 

"  I  believe  you  stated  that  your  father  originally 
drew  up  this  paper,  and  that  recently  you  altered  and 
re- wrote  it  ?" 

"  Those  are  the  facts  relative  to  it." 

"  Can  you  recall  the  date  of  the  revision  ?" 

"  Nearly  a  year  ago.  Last  May  it  was  t  igned  in 
the  presence  of  Doctor  Ledyard  and  Colonel  Powell, 
who  also  signed  as  witnesses,  though  ignorant  of 
its  contents." 

"  You  offer  me  this  as  a  correct  expression  of  Gen'l 
Darrington's  wishes  regarding  the  distribution  of  his 
estate,  real  and  personal  ?" 

"  At  your  request  I  furnish  from  memory  a  copy  of 
Gen'l  Darrington's  will,  which  I  have  faithfully  en 
deavored  to  recall,  and  I  conscientiously  believe  this  to 
be  strictly  accurate.  Shall  I  read  it  ?" 

A  severe  and  prolonged  fit  of  coughing  delayed  her 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  391 

reply  ;  and  when  she  held  out  her  hand  for  the  paper, 
her  breathing1  was  painfully  rapid  and  labored. 

"  I  will  not  tax  you.    Let  me  glance  over  it." 

Spreading  the  long  sheets  open  before  her,  she 
leaned  over  the  table  and  read. 

In  the  palm  of  her  right  hand  rested  her  temple,  and 
the  left  smoothed  and  turned  the  leaves.  Crossing  his 
arms  on  the  top  of  the  table,  the  attorney  bent  for 
ward  and  surrendered  himself  to  the  coveted  delight 
of  studying  the  face,  that  had  made  summary  ship 
wreck  of  his  matrimonial  fortune.  No  slightest  detail 
escaped  him;  the  burnished  locks  curled  loosely  around 
the  forehead  smooth  as  a  sleeping  baby's,  the  broad 
arch  of  the  delicately-pencilled  black  brows,  the 
Madonna  droop  of  the  lids  whose  heavy  sable  fringes 
deepened  the  bluish  shadows  beneath  the  eyes,  the 
straight,  flawless  nose,  the  perfect  chin  with  its  deeply- 
incised  dimple,  the  remarkably  beautiful  mouth,  which 
despairing  grief  had  kissed  and  made  its  own. 

Pale  as  marble,  the  proud,  patrician  face  was  pure  as 
some  bending  lily  frozen  on  its  graceful,  rounded  stem  ; 
and  the  tapering  fingers  with  daintily  curved,  polished 
nails  would  have  suited  better  the  lace  and  velvet  of 
royal  robes  than  the  rough  home-spun  sleeves  folded 
back  from  the  white  wrists. 

Mr.  Dunbar  had  met  many  lovely,  gracious,  high 
bred  women,  yet  escaped  heart  whole ;  and  even  the 
nobility  and  sweetness  of  his  pretty  fiancee,  enhanced 
by  the  surrounding  glamour  of  heiresship,  failed  to 
touch  the  flood  gates  of  tender  love  that  a  pauper's 
hand  had  suddenly  unloosed,  to  sweep  as  a  destroying 
torrent  through  the  fair  garden  of  his  most  cherished 
hopes.  What  was  the  spell  exerted  by  the  young  con 
vict  when  she  grappled  his  heart,  and  in  the  havoc  of 
her  own  life  carried  down  all  the  possibilities  of  his 


392  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

future  peace  ?  Personal  ambition,  calculating  merce 
nary  selfishness  had  melted  away  in  the  volcanic  mad 
ness  that  seized  him,  and  to  his  own  soul  he  acknowl 
edged  that  his  dominant  and  supreme  wish  was  to 
gather  in  his  arms  and  hold  forever  the  condemned 
woman,  who  wore  with  such  sublime  serenity  the 
livery  of  felony. 

After  all,  have  we  misread  our  classics  ?  Had  not 
Homer  a  prevision  of  the  faith  that  Aphrodites'  altar 
belonged  in  the  Temple  of  the  Fates  ? 

Beryl  refolded  the  paper  and  looked  up.  In  the  face 
so  close  to  hers,  she  saw  all  the  yearning  tenderness, 
the  overmastering  love  that  had  convulsed  his  nature, 
and  before  the  pleading  magnetic  eyes  that  essayed  to 
probe  her  soul,  hers  fell. 

As  out  of  a  cloud,  some  burst  of  sunlight  striking 
through  the  ruby  vestments  of  apostles  in  a  cathedral 
window  falls  aslant  and  suddenly  crimsons  the  marble 
features  of  a  sculptured  angel  guarding  the  high  altar, 
so  unexpectedly  a  vivid  blush  dyed  the  girl's  cheeks. 
Her  lips  trembled ;  she  swept  her  hand  across  her 
eyes  as  though  blotting  out  some  fascination  upon 
which  it  was  not  her  privilege  to  dwell ;  then  the  glow 
faded,  she  moved  back  on  the  bench,  and  leaned  her 
head  against  the  wall. 

"  Where  are  the  bonds  and  other  securities  de 
scribed  in  this  paper  ?" 

"  In  a  compartment  of  the  safety  deposit  vault  of 

the Bank,  of  which  Gen'l  Darrington  was  a  large 

stockholder  and  director.  His  box  was  opened  last 
week  in  presence  of  his  adopted  son,  and  we  hoped  to 
nnd  perhaps  a  duplicate  of  the  lost  will;  but  there 
was  not  even  a  memorandum  to  indicate  his  last 
wishes.  '*' 

1  *  Can  you  tell  me  whether  Mr.  Prince  Darringtou  will 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  393 

take  any  legal  steps  to  recover  the  legacy  which  the 
loss  of  the  will  appears  to  have  cancelled  ?" 

"  He  certainly  has  no  such  intention." 

"  Are  you  quite  sure  of  his  views  ?" 

"  Absolutely  sure,  having  talked  with  him  this 
morning.  I  speak  authoritatively." 

''He  was  entirely  dependent  on  Gen'l  Darrington?" 

"  Wholly  so  with  regard  to  pecuniary  resources." 

' '  At  present  he  is  as  much  a  beggar  as  I  was  that 

day  when  I  first  saw  X ?  Is  it  true  that  want  of 

money  obliged  him  to  quit  Germany  before  he  ob 
tained  the  university  degree,  for  which  his  studies 
were  intended  to  fit  him  ?" 

"  Strictly  true.  He  sorely  laments  his  inability  to 
complete  the  course  of  study,  and  hopes  at  some 
future  day  to  return  and  reap  the  distinction  which  he 
feels  sure  awaits  him  in  scientific  fields." 

A  brief  silence  followed,  and  the  girl's  thoughts 
seemed  to  drift  far  from  her  gloomy  surround 
ings  to  some  lofty  plane  of  peace  beyond  the  ills  of 
time.  Once  more  a  spasm  of  coughing  seized  her ; 
then  she  looked  at  the  attorney. 

"  I  learned  in  court  that  the  destruction  of  Gen'l 
Darrington's  will  would  secure  to  my  mother  the  pos 
session  of  all  his  estate.  She  has  entered  into  Rest ; 
into  possession  of  her  heritage  in  Christ's  kingdom. 
Am  I,  her  child,  the  lawful  heir  of  Gen'l  Darrington's 
fortune  ?  Are  there  any  legal  quibbles  that  could  affect 
my  rights  ?" 

' '  I  am  aware  of  none.  The  estate  is  certainly  yours, 
and  the  law  wall  sustain  your  claims." 

*'  Claim  ?  I  only  claim  the  right  to  repair  as  far  as 
possible  a  wrong  for  which  I  suffer,  yet  am  not  re 
sponsible.  I  sent  for  a  copy  of  the  will  because — " 

"  May  I  tell  you  why  ?    Because  in  order  to  execute 


394  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBEKIUS. 

its  provisions,  it  was  essential  that  you  should  know 
them  accurately." 

The  assurance  that  he  interpreted  so  correctly  her 
motive,  brought  a  quick  throb  to  her  tired  heart,  and 
a  faint  flush  of  pleasure  to  her  thin  cheeks. 

"Had  you  read  as  accurately  my  intentions,  six 
months  ago,  when  you  woke  me  from  my  sleep  under 
the  pine  trees,  how  different  the  current  of  many  lives  ! 
Mr.  Dunbar,  my  ignorance  of  legal  forms  constrains 
me  to  accept  your  assistance  in  a  matter  which  I  am 
unwilling  to  delay-  She  hesitated,  and  he  smiled 
bitterly. 

"  You  need  be  at  no  trouble  to  emphasize  your  re 
luctance.  I  quite  understand  your  ineradicable  repug 
nance.  Nevertheless  good  luck  ordains  that  only  I  can 
serve  you  at  present,  so  be  pleased  to  command  me." 

"  Thank  you.    I  wish  you  to  help  me  make  my  will." 

"Why?" 

"  How  long  do  you  suppose  I  can  endure  this  '  death 
in  life  ?'  I  am  patient  because  I  hope  and  believe  my 
release  is  not  far  distant.  Galloping  consumption  is  a 
short  avenue  to  freedom." 

He  caught  his  breath,  and  the  blood  ebbed  from  his 
lips,  but  he  hurled  aside  the  suggestion  as  though  it 
were  a  coiled  viper. 

"  Life  has  for  you  one  charm,  which  will  successfully 
hold  death  at  bay.  Love  has  sustained  you  thus  far ; 
it  will  lend  wings  to  the  years  that  must  ultimately 
bring  the  recompense  for  which  you  long,  the  sight  of 
him  whose  crime  you  expiate." 

He  could  not  understand  the  peculiar  smile  that 
parted  her  lips,  nor  the  far-away,  preoccupied  expres 
sion  that  crept  into  her  sad  eyes. 

1  'Nevertheless  1  have  decided  to  make  my  will.  I  desire 
that  in  every  detail  it  shall  duplicate  the  provisions  of 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  395 

the  instrument  I  am  punished  for  having  stolen  and  de 
stroyed  ;  and  I  charge  you  to  write  it  so  carefully,  that 
when  all  the  legacies  shall  have  been  paid,  the  residue  of 
the  estate  cannot  fail  to  reach  the  hands  of  the  son  for 
whom  it  was  intended .  To  Mr.  Prince  Darrington  I 
give  and  bequeath,  mark  you  now,  all  my  right  and 
title  to  the  fortune  left  by  Gen'l  Darrington." 

"  Before  I  pledge  myself  to  execute  this  commission, 
I  wTish  you  to  know  that  of  such  testamentary  dispo 
sition  of  your  estate,  I  should  become  remotely  a  bene 
ficiary.  Mr.  Darrington  has  asked  my  only  sister  to 
be  his  wife,  and  their  marriage  is  contingent  merely  on 
his  financial  ability  to  maintain  her  comfortably.  Mine 
is  scarcely  the  proper  hand  to  pour  the  rich  stream  of 
your  possessions  into  his  empty  coffers." 

"  I  am  well  aware  of  the  tie  that  binds  your  sister 
and  Mr.  Darrington." 

"  Since  when  have  you  known  it  ?" 

"No  prison  walls  are  sufficiently  thick  to  turn  the 
stream  of  gossip ;  it  trickles,  oozes  through  all  bar 
riers.  Exactly  when  or  how  I  became  acquainted  with 
your  family  secret  is  not  germane  to  the  subject  under 
consideration." 

"  Cognizant  of  the  fact  that  Gen'l  Darrington's 
adopted  son  was  my  prospective  brother-in-law,  you 
have  paid  me  the  compliment  of  believing  that  selfish, 
pecuniary  motives  incited  my  zeal  in  securing  your 
prosecution,  for  the  loss  of  the  fortune  I  coveted? 
Your  heart  garners  that  insult  to  me  ?" 

The  only  storm  signal  that  defied  his  habitual  con 
trol,  was  the  intense  glow  in  his  eyes  where  an  electric 
spark  rayed  out  through  the  blue  depths. 

"  I  might  tell  you,  that  my  heart  is  a  sepulchre  too 
crowded  with  dead  hopes  to  hold  resentment  against 
their  slayer;  tut  you  have  a  right  to  something  more. 


396  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

I  pay  you  the  just  tribute  of  grateful  admiration  for 
the  unselfish  heroism  that  prompted  you  to  plead  so 
eloquently  in  defence  of  a  forsaken  woman  who, 
living  or  dead,  defrauded  your  sister  of  a  brilliant  for 
tune.  You  fought  courageously  to  save  me,  and  I  am 
quite  willing  you  should  know  'that  it  is  partly  due  to 
my  recognition  of  your  bravery  in  leading  that  forlorn 
hope,  that  I  am  anxious  by  immediate  reparation  to 
restore  matters  to  their  original  status.  Life  is  so  un 
certain  I  can  leave  nothing  to  chance ;  and  when  my 
will  is  signed  and  sealed,  and  in  your  possession,  I  shall 
know  that  even  if  I  should  be  suddenly  set  free,  Mr. 
Darrington  and  your  sister  will  enjoy  their  heritage. 
When  you  will  have  drawn  up  the  paper  send  it  to 
Mr.  Singleton.  I  will  sign  it  in  his  presence  and  that  of 
the  doctor,  which  will  suffice  for  witnesses." 

"  In  view  of  the  peculiar  provisions  of  the  will,  I 
prefer  you  should  employ  some  other  instrument  for 
its  preparation.  Judge  Dent,  Churchill  or  Wolverton, 
will  gladly  serve  you,  and  I  will  send  to  you  whomsoever 
you  select.  I  decline  to  become  the  medium  of  transfer 
ring  the  accursed  money  that  cost  you  so  dearly,  to  the 
man  whom  my  sister  expects  to  marry." 

"  As  you  will ;  only  let  there  be  no  delay.  Ask  Judge 
Dent  to  prove  his  friendship  for  Gen'l  Darrington  by 
enabling  me  to  execute  his  wishes." 

"  Judge  Dent  went  this  morning  to  New  York  ;  but 
by  the  latter  part  of  the  week  you  may  expect  the 
paper  for  signature." 

"  That  relieves  one  anxiety,  for  while  I  was  so  ill  I 
was  tortured  by  the  thought  that  I  could  not  make 
just  restitution  to  innocent  sufferers.  Mr.  Dunbar,  a 
yet  graver  apprehension  now  oppresses  me.  If  I  should 
live,  how  can  I  put  the  rightful  owners  in  immediate 
possession  ?  What  process  does  the  law  prescribe 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  397 

for  conveying  the  pioperty  directly  to  Mr.  Darring- 
ton?" 

"  Ordinarily  the  execution  of  a  deed  of  gift  from 
you  to  him,  would  accomplish  that  object." 

(l  Will  you  please  write  out  the  proper  form  on  the 
paper  in  front  of  you  ?" 

"  I  certainly  will  not." 

"  May  I  know  why  ?" 

"For  two  reasons.  Personally,  the  deed  of  gift 
would  embarrass  me  even  more  than  the  will.  Profes 
sionally,  it  occurs  to  me  you  are  not  of  age ;  hence  the 
transfer  would  be  invalid  at  present.  Pardon  me,  how 
old  are  you?" 

"  I  was  eighteen  on  the  fourth  of  July  last.  Grim 
sarcasm  is  it  not,  that  the  child  of  Independence  Day 
should  be  locked  up  in  a  dungeon  ?" 

"The  law  of  the  State  requires  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years  to  insure  the  validity  of  such  a  transaction 
as  that  which  you  contemplate." 

"Do  you  mean  that  my  hands  are  tied;  that  if  I 
should  live,  I  can  do  nothing  for  more  than  two  years?" 

"Such  is  the  law." 

"  Then  the  justice  that  fled  from  criminal  law,  steers 
equally  clear  of  the  civil  code  ?  What  curious  para 
doxes,  what  subtleties  of  finesse  lurk  in  those  fine 
meshes  of  jurisprudence,  ingeniously  spread  to  succor 
wary  guilt,  to  tangle  and  trip  the  careless  feet  of  inno 
cence  !  All  the  world  knows  that  the  dearest  wish  that 
warmed  General  Darrington's  heart  was  to  disinherit 
and  repudiate  his  daughter,  and  to  secure  his  worldly 
goods  to  his  adopted  son  ;  and  yet  because  a  sheet  of 
paper  expressing  that  desire  could  not  be  produced  in 
court,  the  will  of  the  dead  is  defied,  and  the  fortune  is 
thrust  into  the  hated  hands  which  its  owner  swore 
ghould  never  touch  it;  hands  that  the  law  says  murdered 


398  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

in  order  to  steal.  When  the  child  of  the  disowned  and 
repudiated,  holding  sacred  the  unfortunate  man's 
wishes,  refuses  to  accept  the  blood-bought  heritage, 
and  attempts  to  replace  the  fatal  legacy  in  the  posses, 
sion  of  those  for  whom  it  was  notoriously  intended — 
this  Tartufe  of  justice  strides  forward  and  forbids 
righteous  restitution ;  postpones  the  rendering  of 
' Caesar's  things  to  Cassar'  for  two  years,  in  order  to  save 
the  condemned  the  additional  pang  of  regretting  the 
generosity  of  her  minority  !  Human  wills,  intentions 
and  aims,  no  matter  how  laudable  and  well  known,  are 
blandly  strangled  by  judicial  red  tape,  and  laid  away 
with  pompous  ceremonial  in  the  dusty  catacombs  of 
legal  form.  Grimly  grotesque,  this  masquerade  of 
equity  !  Something  must  be  done  for  Mr.  Darrington, 
to  enable  him  to  finish  his  studies  and  embark  on  the 
career  his  father  designed." 

"  He  is  a  man,  and  can  learn  to  carve  his  way  un 
aided." 

She  sighed  wearily,  and  a  troubled  look  crossed  her 
face ;  while  the  visitor  followed  with  longing  eyes  the 
slow  motion  of  her  delicate  hand,  beautiful  as  Herses', 
that  softly  stroked  the  cat  purring  against  her  shoulder. 

"  Surely  there  is  an  outlet  to  this  snare.  You  could 
help  me  if  you  would." 

"  I  ?  Do  you  imagine  that  after  all  the  injuries  I 
have  inflicted  on  you,  I  can  consent  to  help  you  beggar 
yourself?" 

"  You  know  that  I  would  sooner  handle  red-hot 
plough-shares,  than  touch  a  dollar,  a  cent,  of  that  for 
tune.  It  would  greatly  relieve  my  mind  and  comfort 
me,  if  you  would  indicate  some  method  by  which  I  can 
convey  to  Mr.  Darrington  that  which  really  belongs 
to  him.  Unless  he  can  enjoy  it,  it  might  as  well  be  in 
the  grave  now  with  its  former  owner.  Do  help  me." 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  399 

The  pathetic  pleading-  of  face  and  voice  almost  un 
nerved  him,  but  he  sat  silent. 

"  Cannot  I  dispose  at  least  of  the  income  or  interest? 
If  a  definite  amount  should  be  allowed  me  each  year, 
during  my  minority,  could  I  do  as  I  please  with 
that  sum?" 

"  Certainly  you  have  that  right.  I  may  as  well  tell 
you,  there  is  one  method  of  accomplishing  your  aim, 
by  applying  to  the  Legislature  to  legalize  your  acts  by 
declaring  you  of  age.  At  present  the  estate  is  in  the 
hands  of  Mr.  Wolverton,  whom  the  Probate  Court  has 
appointed  administrator;  and  at  the  expiration  of 
eighteen  months  from  the  date  of  Gen'l  Darrington's 
death,  the  control  of  the  whole  will  devolve  to  some 
extent  upon  you.  Meanwhile  the  administrator  will 
allow  you  annually  a  reasonable  amount." 

"  Do  you  know  what  sum  Mr.  Darrington  required 
while  abroad  ?" 

"  I  am  told  his  allowance  was  four  thousand  dollars 
per  annum.  Histologj^,  morphology,  and  aetiology  are 
whims  too  costly  for  impecunious  students.  Prince 
must  reduce  his  stable  of  hobbies." 

"  No,  he  is  entitled  to  canter  as  many  as  he  likes,  and 
the  money  could  not  be  better  spent  than  in  promoting 
the  noble  work  of  the  advancement  of  Science.  The 
problem  is  solved,  and  my  earthly  cares  are  at  an  end. 
Leave  the  copy  you  brought,  and  ask  Mr.  Wolverton 
to  see  me  to-morrow.  He  shall  write  both  the  will 
and  the  deed  of  gift,  which  you  think  can  be  made 
valid,  and  meanwhile  the  annual  allowance  must  be 
paid  as  formerly  to  the  son.  Whether  I  live  or  die, 
the  wishes  of  the  dead  will  be  respected,  and  Prince 
Darrington  shall  have  his  own.  It  is  an  intense  relief 
to  know  that  two  innocent  and  happy  lives  will  never 
feel  the  fatal  chill  of  my  shadow ;  and  when  your  sister 


4:00  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

enters  '  Elm  Bluff '  as  its  mistress,  the  balance-sheet 
will  be  complete." 

As  if  some  dreaded  task  had  been  finally  accom 
plished,  she  drew  a  deep  sigh  of  weariness  that  was  cut 
short  by  a  spell  of  coughing-. 

"There  is  a  Scriptural  injunction  concerning  kind 
ness  to  enemies,  which  amounts  to  heaping  coals  of 
fire  on  their  heads ;  and  to  my  unregenerate  nature,  it 
savors  more  of  subtile  inquisitorial  cruelty,  than  of 
Christian  charity." 

i '  Your  sister  is  not  my  enemy,  I  hope,  and  need  I  s 
rank  your  sister's  brother  ?    There  is  one  thing  more, 
which  even  your  sarcasm  shall  not  prevent." 

She  drew  from  beneath  the  cardboard  a  paper  box 
placed  it  on  the  table  and  removed  the  lid. 

' '  I  presume  the  Sheriff  meant  kindly  when  he  sen 
me  this  as  my  property,  which  having  testified  to  suit 
the  prosecution,  was  returned  to  the  burglar  in  whose 
possession  it  was  found.  The  sight  of  it  was  as  humil 
iating  as  a  blow  on  the  cheek.  Some  gifts  are  fatal ; 
nevertheless,  you  must  ascribe  no  sinister  motive  to 
me,  when  I  fulfil  that  injunction  of  Gen'l  Darlington's 
last  Will  and  Testament,  which  set  apart  theso 
sapphires  for  his  son's  bride.  They  are  just  as  I  re 
ceived  them  from  his  hands.  My  mother,  for  whom 
they  were  intended,  never  saw  them;  I  thank  God 
that  she  wears  the  eternal  jewels  that  He  provides  for 
the  faithful  and  the  pure  in  heart.  I  wish  you  to  de 
liver  this  case,  and  the  gold  pieces,  one  hundred  dollars, 
to  Mr.  Darrington  ;  and  it  will  be  a  mercy  to  rid  me  of 
torturing  reminders." 

She  looked  at  the  azure  flame  leaping  from  the 
superb  stones,  and  pushed  the  box  away  with  a  gest 
ure  of  loathing. 

"  Beautifully  blue  as  those  weird  nebulae  in  the  far, 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  401 

far  South ;  that  brood  over  the  ocean  wastes  where 
cyclones  are  born  ;  but  to  me  and  to  mine,  the  baleful 
medium  of  an  inherited  curse.  Having-  accomplished 
my  doom,  may  they  bring  only  benison  to  your  sister." 

< '  I  would  see  adders  fastened  in  her  ears  and  twined 
around  her  neck  sooner  than  those — " 

"  At  least  take  them  out  of  my  sight ;  give  them  to 
Mr.  Darrington.  They  are  maddening  reminders  of  a 
perished  past.  Now,  to  the  last  iota,  I  have  made  all 
possible  restitution,  and  the  account  is  squared ;  for  in 
exchange  for  that  life,  which  I  am  condemned  as 
having  taken,  my  own  is  the  forfeit.  The  expiation 
is  complete." 

She  seemed  to  have  forgotten  his  presence,  as  her 
gaze  rested  on  the  ring  she  wore,  and  a  happy  smile 
momentarily  glorified  the  pale  face, 

"  Beryl !— " 

She  started,  winced,  shivered ;  and  threw  up  her 
hand  with  the  haughty  denial  he  so  well  remembered. 

"  Hush  !  Only  my  precious  dead  ever  called  me  so. 
You  must  not  dare  !" 

Something  she  read  in  the  face  that  leaned  toward 
her,  filled  her  with  vague  dread,  and  despite  her 
efforts,  she  trembled  visibly. 

"  Mr.  Dunbar,  I  am  very  weary ;  tired — oh  !  how 
tired,  body  and  soul." 

"  You  dismiss  me  ?  Recollect  I  was  warned  that 
this  would  be  the  last  interview  accorded  me,  and  I 
beg  your  indulgence.  If  you  knew  all,  if  you  could 
imagine  one-half  the  sorrow  you  have  caused  me,  you 
vrould  consider  our  accounts  as  satisfactorily  balanced 
LS  your  settlement  with  the  Darringtons.  Whether 
you  have  ruined  my  life,  or  are  destined  to  purify  and 
exalt  it,  remains  to  be  determined.  To  see  you  as  you 
are.  is  almost  beyond  my  powers  of  endurance,  and  for 


4:02  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

my  own  sake — mark  you — to  ease  my  own  heart,  I 
shall  redouble  my  efforts  to  have  you  liberated. 
There  is  one  speedy  process,  the  discovery  of  the  man 
whom,  thus  far,  you  have  shielded  so  effectually  ;  and 
next  week  I  begin  the  hunt  in  earnest  by  going  West." 

He  saw  her  fingers  clutch  each  other,  and  the  artery 
in  her  throat  throb  quickly. 

"  How  many  victims  are  required  to  appease  the 
manes  of  Gen'l  Darrington  ?  Be  satisfied  with  having 
sacrificed  me,  and  waste  no  more  time  in  search  that 
can  bring  neither  recompense  to  you,  nor  consolation 
to  me.  If  I  can  bear  my  fate,  you,  sir,  have  no  right 
to  interfere." 

"  Then,  like  the  selfish  man  I  am,  I  usurp  the  right. 
What  damnable  infatuation  can  bind  you  to  that  mis 
erable  poltroon,  who  skulks  in  safety,  knowing  that 
the  penalty  of  his  evil  deeds  falls  on  you  ?  One  ex 
planation  has  suggested  itself :  it  haunts  me  like  a 
fiend,  and  only  you  can  exorcise  it.  Are  you  mar 
ried  to  that  brute,  and  is  it  loyalty  that  nerves  you  ? 
For  God's  sake  do  not  trifle,  tell  me  the  truth." 

He  leaned  across  the  table,  caught  her  hands.  She 
shook  off  his  touch,  and  her  eyes  were  ablaze. 

"  Are  you  insane  ?  How  dare  you  cherish  such  a 
suspicion  ?  The  bare  conjecture  is  an  insult,  and  you 
must  know  it  is  false.  Married  ?  I  ?" 

"  Forgive  me  if  I  wound  you,  but  indeed  I  could 
conceive  of  no  other  solution  of  the  mystery  of  your 
self-sacrifice ;  for  it  is  utterly  incredible  that  unless 
some  indissoluble  tie  bound  you,  that  cowardly  knave 
could  command  your  allegiance.  It  maddens  me  to 
think  that  you,  so  far  beyond  all  other  women,  can 
tolerate  the  thought  of  that — " 

"  Hush  !  hush  !  You  conjure  phantoms  with  which 
to  taunt  and  torture.  You  pity  me  so  keenly,  that 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  403 

your  judgment  becomes  distorted,  and  you  chase 
chimeras.  Banish  imaginary  husbands,  Western 
journeys,  even  the  thought  of  my  wretched  doom,  and 
try  henceforth  to  forget  that  I  ever  saw  X ." 

u  What  does  this  mean  ?  It  was  not  on  your  hand 
when  I  held  it  so  long  that  day — in  my  own.  Tell 
me,  and  quiet  my  pain." 

He  pointed  to  the  heavy  ring,  which  was  much  too 
large  for  the  wasted  finger  where  it  glistened. 

"  What  does  it  mean?  A  tale  of  woe.  It  means 
that  when  my  broken-hearted  mother  was  dying  among 
strangers,  in  a  hospital,  she  kissed  her  wedding  ring, 
and  sent  it  with  her  love  and  blessing  to  the  child — she 
idolized.  It  means —  She  held  up  her  waxen  hand, 
and  into  her  voice  stole  immeasurable  tenderness : 
"  Shall  I  tell  you  all  it  means  ?  This  little  gold  hoop 
inscribed  inside  '  I.  B.  to  E.  D.,'  girdles  all  that  this 
world  has  left  for  me ;  memories  of  father,  mother, 
sunny  childhood  in  a  peaceful  home,  lofty  ambitions, 
happy,  happy  beautiful  hopes  that  once  belonged  to 
the  girl  Beryl,  whom  pitiless  calamity  has  broken  on 
her  cruel  wheel.  Walled  up,  dying  slowly  in  a  convict's 
tomb,  the  only  light  that  shines  into  my  desolate  heart, 
flickers  through  this  little  circle  ;  and  clasping  it  close 
through  the  long,  long  nights,  when  horrible  images 
brood  like  vampires,  it  soothes  me,  like  the  touch  of 
the  dear  hand  which  it  graced  so  long,  and  brings  me 
dreams  of  the  fair,  sweet  past." 

Was  it  the  mist  in  his  eyes  that  showed  her  almost 
glorified  by  the  level  rays  of  the  setting  sun,  as  like  a 
tired  child  she  leaned  her  head  against  the  wall,  a 
pale  image  of  resignation  ? 

To  lose  her  was  a  conjecture  so  fraught  with  pain, 
that  his  swart  face  blanched,  and  his  voice  quivered 
under  its  weight  of  tender  entreaty. 


4:04  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

f*  What  is  it  that  sustains  you  in  your  frightful 
martyrdom  ?  Why  do  you  endure  these  horrors  which 
might  be  abolished  ?  You  hurl  me  back  upon  the 
loathsome  thought  that  love,  love  for  a  depraved, 
brutal  wretch  is  the  secret  that  baffles  me.  I  might 
be  able  to  see  you  die,  to  lay  you,  stainless  snowdrop 
that  you  are,  in  the  coffin  that  would  keep  you  sacred 
forever ;  but  please  God !  I  will  never  endure  the 
pain  of  seeing  you  leave  these  sheltering  walls  to 
walk  into  that  man's  arms.  I  swear  to  you  by  all  I 
hold  most  precious,  that  if  he  be  yet  alive,  I  will  hand 
him  over  to  retribution." 

He  had  pushed  aside  the  table,  and  stood  before  her, 
with  the  one  wholly  absorbing  love  of  his  life  glowing 
in  his  face.  She  dared  not  meet  the  gaze  that  thrilled 
her  with  an  exquisite  happiness,  and  involuntarily 
rose.  Had  she  not  strangled  the  impulse,  her  flutter 
ing  heart  would  have  prompted  her  to  lean  forward, 
rest  her  head  against  his  arm,  and  tell  him  all ;  but 
close  as  they  stood,  and  realizing  that  she  reigned 
supreme  in  his  affection,  one  seemed  to  rise  reproach 
fully  between  them  ;  that  generous,  gentle  woman  to 
whom  his  faith  was  pledged.  No  matter  at  what  cost, 
she  must  guard  Leo's  peace  of  mind ;  and  to  dispel  his 
jealous  illusion  now,  would  speedily  overwhelm  the 
tottering  fabric  of  his  allegiance.  Folding  her  arms 
tightly  across  her  breast,  she  answered  proudly  : 

"  So  be  it  then.    Do  your  worst." 

"You  admit  it!" 

"  I  admit  nothing." 

"You  defy  me?" 

"Defy?  It  seems  I  am  always  at  tne  mercy  of 
Tiberius." 

"  Can  you  look  at  me,  and  deny  that  you  are  screen 
ing  your  lover?" 


AT  THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  405 

She  quickly  lifted  her  head,  with  a  peculiar  haughty 
movement  that  reminded  him  of  a  desperate  stag  at 
bay,  and  he  never  forgot  the  expression  of  her  eyes. 

"  I  deny  that  Miss  Gordon's  accepted  lover  has  any 
right  to  catechise  me  concerning  a  subject  which,  were 
his  suspicions  correct,  should  invest  it  with  a  sanctity 
inviolable  by  wanton  curiosity." 

He  recoiled  slightly  as  from  a  lash. 

"  Miss  Gordon  is  on  the  eve  of  sailing  through  the 
sunny  isles  of  Greece  ;  and  while  she  is  absent  I  pur 
pose  finding  my  nepenthe  in  my  hunt  for  murderers 
among  Montana  wilds.  You  have  defied  me,  and  I 
will  do  my  worst,  nay,  my  very  best  to  catch  and 
hang  that  cowardly  rogue  who  adroitly  used  your 
handkerchief  as  the  instrument  to  aid  his  crime." 

She  walked  a  few  steps,  putting  once  more  between 
them  the  table,  against  which  she  leaned. 

"  If  you  are  successful,  and  the  mystery  of  that 
awful  murder  should  be  unravelled,  you  will  then 
comprehend  something  of  the  desperation  that  makes 
me  endure  even  this  crucifixion  of  soul ;  and  in  that 
day,  when  you  discover  the  fugitive  lover,  you  will 
blush  for  the  taunts  aimed  at  a  defenceless  and  sorely- 
stricken  woman." 

"Nevertheless,  I  bend  my  energies  henceforth  to  his 
capture  and  punishment." 

"  Because  he  is  my  lover  ?  Or  because  he  may  be  a 
criminal  ?  Ask  that  question  of  your  honor.  Answer 
it  to  your  own  conscience,  and  to  the  noble  heart  of  the 
trusting  woman  you  asked  to  become  your  wife.  Mr. 
Dunbar,  you  must  leave  me  now;  my  strength  is 
almost  spent." 

Baffled,  exasperated,  he  approached  the  table  and 
took  something  from  his  vest-pocket. 

"  I  hold  my  honor  flawless,  and  with  the  sanction  of 


406  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

my  conscience  I  prefer  to  answer  to  you — you  alone — 
because  he  is  your  lover,  I  will  have  his  life." 

She  smiled,  and  her  eyes  drooped  ;  but  there  was 
strange  emphasis  in  her  words  as  she  clasped  her 
hands : 

"  God  keep  my  lover  now  and  forever.  Mr.  Dunbar, 
when  you  discover  him,  I  have  no  fear  that  you  will 
harm  one  hair  in  his  dear  head." 

"  If  you  knew  all  you  have  cost  me,  you  might  un 
derstand  why  I  will  never  forego  my  compensation.  I 
bide  my  time ;  but  I  shall  win.  You  asked  me,  as  a 
special  favor,  to  preserve  and  secure  for  you  something 
which  you  held  very  valuable.  Because  no  wish  of 
yours  can  ever  be  forgotten,  I  have  complied  with 
your  request  and  brought  you  this  '  precious  souvenir' 
of  a  tender  past." 

He  tore  away  the  paper  wrapping,  and  held  toward 
her  the  meerschaum  pipe,  then  dropped  it  on  the  table 
as  though  it  burned  his  fingers. 

At  sight  of  it,  a  sudden  faintness  made  the  girl  reel, 
and  she  put  her  hand  to  her  throat,  as  if  to  loosen  a 
throttling  touch.  Her  eyes  filled,  and  in  a  whirling 
mist  she  seemed  to  see  the  beloved  face  of  the  father 
long  dead,  of  the  gay,  beautiful  young  brother  who  had 
wrought  her  ruin.  Weakness  overpowered  her,  and 
sinking  on  her  knees,  she  drew  the  pipe  closer,  laid  it 
against  her  cheek,  folded  her  arms  over  it  on  the  table 
ind  bowed  her  head. 

What  a  host  of  mocking  phantoms  leaped  through 
the  portals  of  the  Bygone — babbling  of  the  glorious 
golden  dawn  that  was  whitening  into  a  radiant  morn 
ing,  when  the  day-star  fell  back  below  the  horizon, 
and  night  devoured  the  new-born  day.  Memory 
comes,  sometimes,  in  the  guise  of  an  angel,  wearing 
fragrant  chaplets,  singing  us  the  perfect  harmonies  of 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  407 

a  hallowed  past ;  but  oftener  still,  as  a  fury  scourging 
with  serpents ;  and  always  over  her  shoulder  peers 
the  wan  face  and  pitying  eyes  of  a  divine  Regret. 

The  sun  had  gone  down  behind  the  dense  pine  forest 
stretching  beyond  the  prison,  but  the  sky  was  a  vast 
shifting  flame  of  waning  rose  and  deepening  scarlet, 
and  the  glow  from  the  West  still  defied  the  shadows 
gathering  in  the  cell.  Beryl  was  so  still,  that  Mr. 
Dunbar  feared  she  had  fainted  from  exhaustion. 

He  stepped  to  her  side,  and  laid  his  hand  on  the 
Bronzed  head,  smoothing  caressingly  yet  reverently 
the  short,  silky  hair.  Ah,  the  unfathomable  tenderness 
with  which  he  bent  over  the  only  woman  he  ever  loved; 
the  intolerable  pain  of  the  thought  that  after  all  he 
might  lose  her.  He  heard  the  shuddering  sob  that 
broke  from  her  overtaxed  and  aching  heart,  and  despite 
his  jealous  rage  he  felt  unmanned.  When  she  raised 
her  face,  tears  hung  on  her  lashes. 

"  I  will  thank  you,  Mr.  Dunbar,  as  long  as  I  live, 
for  this  last  and  greatest  kindness.  If  I  could  tell  you 
what  this  precious  relic  represents  to  me,  oh,  if  you 
knew  !  you  would  pity  me  indeed." 

"  Tell  me.  Trust  me.  God  knows  I  would  never 
betray  your  confidence,  no  matter  what  it  cost  me." 

It  was  a  powerful  temptation  to  divulge  the  truth, 
and  her  heart  whispered  that  Bertie's  safety  would  be 
secured  by  removing  all  jealous  incentive  to  his  pur 
suit  ;  but  she  remembered  the  fair,  sweet,  heroic 
woman  who  had  dared  her  fiance's  wrath  in  order  to 
unbar  those  prison  doors ;  who  had  faithfully  and  deli 
cately  thrown  over  the  convict  the  mantle  of  her  friend 
ship  ;  and  the  loyal  soul  of  the  prisoner  strangled  its 
weakness. 

Perishing  in  the  desert  where  scorching  sands  stifled 
her,  she  had  surrendered  to  death,  when  love  sprang 


408  AI  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

to  her  side,  lifted  her  into  the  heavenly  peace  of  dewy 
palms,  and  held  to  parched  lips  the  sparkling  draught 
a  glimpse  of  which  electrified  her.  Would  starvation 
entitle  her  to  drink  ?  Over  the  head  of  pleading  love 
stretched  the  arm  of  stony-eyed  duty,  striking  into  the 
dust  the  crystal  drops,  withering  the  palms ;  and  fol 
lowing  her  stern  beckon,  the  thirsty  pilgrim  re-trod 
the  sands  of  surrender,  more  intolerable  than  before, 
because  the  oasis  was  still  in  sight.  Duty  !  Bugged 
incorruptible  Spartan  dame,  whose  inflexible  mandate 
is  ever :  "  With  your  shield,  or  on  it." 

Beryl  put  up  her  hand,  drew  his  from  her  head  to 
her  lips,  kissed  it  softly. 

"  Good  bye,  Mr.  Dunbar.  I  promise  you  one  thing. 
If  I  find  I  cannot  live,  I  will  send  for  you.  Upon  the 
border  of  the  grave  I  will  open  my  heart.  You  shall 
see  all ;  and  then  you  will  understand,  and  deliver  a 
message  which  I  must  leave  in  your  hands.  Give  my 
grateful  remembrance  to  Miss  Gordon.  Make  her 
happy  ;  and  ask  her  to  pray  for  me,  that  I  may  be 
patient.  Now  leave  me,  for  I  can  bear  no  more." 

She  put  aside  his  hand,  and  hid  her  face  once  more. 
He  stooped,  laid  his  lips  on  the  shining  hair,  and 
walked  away.  At  the  door  he  paused.  The  long 
corridor  was  very  dim  and  gloomy,  and  the  deep-toned 
bell  in  the  tower  was  ringing  slowly.  Looking  back 
into  the  cell,  he  saw  that  Beryl  had  risen,  and  against 
the  sullen  red  glow  on  the  western  window,  her  face 
and  figure  outlined  a  silhouette  of  hopeless  desolation, 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  409 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

1C  ACH  human  soul  is  dowered  with  an  inherent 
"•^  adaptability  to  its  environment,  with  an  innate 
energy  which  properly  directed,  grapples  successfully 
with  all  assailing  ills;  and  Time,  the  tireless  recon 
ciler,  flies  always  low  at  our  side,  hardening  the  fibre 
of  endurance,  stealthily  administering  that  supreme 
and  infallible  anaesthetic  whereby  the  torturing  throes 
of  human  woe  are  surely  stilled.  Existence  involves 
strife ;  mental  and  moral  growth  depend  upon  the 
vigor  with  which  it  is  waged,  and  scorning  cowardice, 
Nature  provides  the  weapons  essential  to  victory. 
The  evils  that  afflict  humanity  are  meted  out  with  a 
marvellously  accurate  reference  to  the  idiosyncrasies 
of  character ;  and  no  weight  is  imposed  which  cannot 
by  heroic  effort  be  sustained.  The  Socratic  belief  that 
if  all  misfortunes  were  laid  in  a  heap,  whence  every 
man  and  woman  must  draw  an  equal  portion,  each 
would  select  the  burden  temporarily  laid  down  and 
walk  away  comforted,  was  merely  an  adumbration  of 
the  sublimer  truth,  "  As  thy  day,  so  shall  thy  strength 
be." 

Very  slowly  physical  health  and  spiritual  patience 
came  back  to  Beryl ;  but  by  degrees  she  bravely  lifted 
the  stained  and  mutilated  wreck  of  life,  and  staggered 
on  her  lonely  way,  finding  that  repose  which  means 
the  death  of  hope. 

At  one  time  death  had  smilingly  pushed  ajar  the 
door  that  opened  into  eternal  peace,  and  beckoned  her 
bruised  soul  to  follow ;  then  mockingly  barred  escape, 


410  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

and  left  her  to  renew  the  battle.  From  that  double 
window  in  the  second  story  of  the  prison,  she  watched 
the  silver  of  full  moons  shining-  on  the  spectral  white 
columns  that  crowned  "  Elm  Bluff",  the  fire  of  setting- 
suns  that  blazed  ruby-red  as  Gubbio  wine,  along  the 
line  of  casements  that  pierced  the  front  fagade,  a 
bristling  perpetual  reminder  of  the  tragedy  that  cried 
to  heaven  for  vengeance.  She  learned  exactly  where 
to  expect  the  first  glimpse  of  the  slender  opal  crescent 
in  the  primrose  west ;  followed  its  waxing  brilliance 
as  it  sailed  out  of  the  green  bights  of  the  pine  forest, 
its  waning  pallor,  amid  the  sparkling  splendor  of  plan 
ets  that  lit  the  far  east. 

As  the  constellations  trod  the  mazes  of  their  stately 
minuet  across  the  distant  field  of  blue,  their  outlines 
grew  familiar  as  human  countenances  ;  and  from  the 
darkness  of  her  cell  she  turned  to  the  great  golden 
stars  throbbing  in  midnight  skies,  peering  in  through 
the  iron  bars  like  pitying  eyes  of  heavenly  guardians. 
Locked  away  from  human  companionship,  and  grateful 
for  the  isolation  of  her  narrow  cell,  the  lonely  woman 
found  tender  compensation  in  the  kindly  embrace  of 
Nature's  arms,  drawn  closely  about  her. 

The  procession  of  the  seasons  became  to  her  the  ad 
vent  of  so  many  angels,  who  leaned  in  at  her  window 
and  taught  her  the  secret  of  floral  runes ;  the  myste 
rious  gamut  of  bird  melodies,  the  shrill  and  weird 
dithyrambics  of  the  insect  world  ;  the  recitative  and 
andante  and  scherzo  of  wind  and  rain,  of  hail  and 
sleet,  in  storm  symphonies.  ,, 

The  Angel  of  Spring,  with  the  snow  of  dogwood, 
and  the  faint  pink  of  apple  blossoms  on  her  dimpling 
cheeks  ;  with  violet  censers  swinging  incense  before  her 
crocus-sandalled  feet,  and  the  bleating  of  young  lambs 
that  nestled  in  her  warm  arms. 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  411 

The  Angel  of  Summer,  full  blown  as  the  red  roses 
flaunting-  amid  the  golden  grain  and  amber  silk  tassels 
that  garlanded  her  sunny  brow  ;  poised  languorously 
on  the  glittering  apex  of  salmon  clouds  at  whose  base 
lightning  flickered  and  thunder  growled, — watching 
through  drowsy  half  shut  lids  the  speckled  broods  of 
partridges  scurrying  with  frantic  haste  through  the 
wild  poppies  of  ripe  wheat  fields,  the  brown  covey  of 
shy  doves  ambushed  among  purple  morning  glories 
swinging  in  the  dense  shade  of  rustling  corn ;  list 
ening  as  in  a  dream  to  the  laughter  of  reapers,  whet 
ting  scythes  in  the  blistering  glare  of  meadow  slopes, 
yet  hearing  all  the  while,  the  low,  sweet  babble  of  the 
slender  stream  that  trickled  through  pine  roots,  down 
the  hillside,  and  added  its  silvery  tinkle  to  the  lullaby 
crooned  by  the  river  to  its  fringe  of  willows,  its  sleep 
ing  lily  pads. 

The  Angel  of  Autumn,  radiant  through  her  crystal 
veil  of  falling  rain,  as  with  caressing  touches  she  deepen 
ed  the  crimson  on  orchard  treasures,  mellowed  the  heart 
of  vineyard  clusters,  painted  the  leaves  with  hectic 
glory  that  reconciled  to  their  approaching  fall,  smiled  on 
the  chestnuts  that  burst  their  burrs  to  greet  her,  whis 
pered  to  the  squirrels  that  the  banquet  was  ready ; 
kissed  into  starry  bloom  blue  asters  crowding  about 
her  knees,  and  left  the  scarlet  of  her  lips  on  the  king 
dom  of  berries  ordained  to  flush  the  forest  aisles,  where 
wolfish  winds  howled,  when  leaves  had  rustled  down 
to  die,  and  verdure  was  no  more. 

The  Angel  of  Winter,  a  sad,  mute  image,  wan  as  her 
robes  of  snow,  stretching  white  wings  to  shelter  per 
ishing  birds  huddled  on  the  cold  pall  that  covered  a 
numb  world, — crowned  with  icicles  that  clasped  her 
silver  locks,  shedding  tears  that  froze  upon  her  marble 
cheeks ;  standing  on  the  universal  grave  where  Nature 


412  AT  THE   MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

lay  bound  in  cerements,  hearkening  to  the  dismal  hoot- 
tng  of  the  owl  at  her  feet,  the  sharp  insistent  cry  oi 
gray  killdees  hovering-  above  icy  marshes,  the  wailing 
tempest  dirge  over  the  dead  earth ;  and  while  with  one 
benignant  hand  she  tenderly  folded  her  mantle  about 
the  sleepers,  the  other  kindled  a  conflagration  along 
the  western  sky,  that  reddened  and  warmed  even  the 
wastes  of  snow,  and  when  she  beckoned,  the  attendant 
stars  seemed  to  circle  closer  and  closer,  burning  with 
an  added  lustre  that  made  night  glorious.  Answering 
her  call,  the  Auroral  arch  sprang  out  of  the  North, 
spanning  the  sky  with  waving  banners  of  orange  and 
violet  name,  that  illumined  the  Niobe  of  the  Seasons, 
as  she  hovered  with  outstretched  glittering  pinions, 
and  mournful  ice-dimmed  eyes  above  her  shrouded  dead 
children. 

With  returning  health,  had  come  to  Beryl  activity 
of  those  artistic  instincts,  which  for  a  time,  had  slum 
bered  in  the  torpor  of  despah  ;  and  when  her  daily 
task  of  work  had  been  accomplished,  the  prisoner 
leaned  with  folded  arms  on  the  stone  ledge  of  the 
window,  and  studied  every  changing  aspect  of  earth 
and  atmosphere.  By  degrees  the  old  ambition  stirred, 
and  she  began  to  sketch  the  slow  panorama  of  July 
clouds,  builu  of  mist  and  foam  into  the  likeness  of 
domes  of  burnished  copper,  and  campaniles  of  sil 
ver;  the  opaque  mountain  masses,  stratified  along1 
the  horizon,  leaden  in  hue,  with  sullen  bluish  gorges 
where  ravening  January  winds  made  their  lair; 
the  intricate,  graceful  tracery  of  gnarled  bare  boughs 
and  interlacing  twigs,  that  would  serve  as  a  frame 
work  when  May  hung  up  her  green  portieres  to 
screen  the  down -lined  boudoirs  where  happy  birds 
nestled ;  the  gray  stone  arches  of  the  bridge  in  the 
valley  below,  the  groups  of  cattle  couched  on  the  rocky 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  4:13 

hillside,  up  which  the  pine  forest  marched  like  ranks 
of  giants. 

On  sultry  afternoons  she  watched  lengthening  tree- 
shadows  creep  across  the  reddish-brown  carpeting  of 
straw,  and  in  the  long  nights  when  sleeplessness  be 
trayed  her  into  the  clutches  of  torturing  retrospection, 
she  waited  and  longed  for  the  pearly  lustre  that  paved 
the  east  for  the  rosy  feet  of  dawn;  listened  to  the 
beating  of  Nature's  heart  in  the  solemn  roar  of  the 
Falls  two  miles  away,  in  the  strophe  and  anti-strophe 
of  winds  quivering  through  pine  tops,  the  startled 
cry  of  birds  dozing  in  cedar  thickets,  the  shrill  droning 
of  crickets,  the  monotonous  recrimination  of  katy-dids, 
the  peculiar,  querulous  call  of  a  family  of  flying  squir 
rels  housed  in  the  cleft  of  an  old  magnolia,  the  Gregor 
ian  chant  of  frogs  cradled  in  the  sedge  and  ferns,  where 
the  river  lapped  and  gurgled. 

Humanity  had  turned  its  back  upon  her;  but  the 
sinless  world  of  creation,  with  all  its  glorious  chords 
of  beautiful  color,  and  the  soothing  witchery  of  the 
solemn  voices  of  the  night,  ministered  abundantly  to 
eye  and  ear.  She  had  hoped  and  prayed  to  die  ;  God 
denied  her  petition  ;  and  sent,  instead  of  His  Angel  of 
Death,  two  to  comfort  her,  the  Angel  of  Health  and 
the  Angel  of  Resignation;  whereby  she  understood, 
that  she  had  not  yet  earned  surcease  from  suffering, 
but  was  needed  for  future  work  in  the  Master's  vine 
yard. 

If  live  she  must,  through  the  five  years  of  piacular 
sacrifice,  why  vitiate  its  efficacy  by  rebellious  repin 
ing,  that  seemed  an  affront  to  the  divine  arbiter  of 
human  destinies  ?  She  could  not  escape  the  cross ; 
and  bitterness  of  heart  might  jeopardize  the  crown. 
Beggared  by  time,  could  she  afford  to  risk  the  eternal 
heritage?  The  deepest  conviction  of  her  soul  was, 


4:14  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"  Behind  fate,  stands  God";  hidden  for  a  season,  deal 
and  blind  and  mute,  it  seemed,  but  always  surely 
there ;  waiting-  His  own  appointed  season  of  rescue, 
and  of  recompense.  So  strong  was  her  faith  in  His 
overruling  wisdom  and  mercy,  that  her  soul  found 
rest,  through  perpetual  prayer  for  patience ;  and  as 
weeks  slipped  into  months,  and  season  followed  sea 
son,  she  realized  that  though  no  roses  of  happiness 
could  ever  bloom  along  her  arid  path,  the  lilies  of 
peace  kissed  her  tired  feet. 

Somewhere  in  the  wicked  world,  Bertie  was  astray ; 
and  perhaps  God  had  kept  her  alive,  intending  she 
should  fulfil  her  mission  years  hence,  by  bringing  him 
out  of  the  snares  of  temptation,  back  into  the  fold  of 
Christ's  redeemed.  Five  years  of  penal  servitude  to 
ransom  his  soul ;  was  the  price  exorbitant? 

One  dull,  wintry  afternoon  as  she  pressed  close  to 
the  window,  to  catch  the  fading  light  on  the  page  of 
her  Bible,  it  chanced  to  be  the  chapter  in  St.  Luke, 
which  contained  the  parable  of  the  Pharisee  and  the 
Publican ;  and  while  she  read,  a  great  compunction 
smote  her ;  a  remorseful  sense  of  having  scorned  as 
utterly  unclean  and  debased,  her  suffering  fellow 
prisoners. 

Was  there  no  work  to  be  done  for  the  dear  Master, 
in  that  moral  lazaretta— the  long  rows  of  cells  down 
stairs,  where  some  had  been  consigned  for '  ninety-nine 
years'  ?  Hitherto,  she  had  shrunk  from  contact,  as 
from  leprous  contagion ;  meeting  the  Penitentiary  in 
mates  only  in  the  chapel  where,  since  her  restoration 
to  health,  she  went  regularly  to  sing  and  play  on  the 
organ,  when  the  chapla/n  held  service.  The  world 
had  cruelly  misjudged  her ;  was  she  any  more  lenient 
to  those  who  might  be  equally  innocent  ? 

Next  day  she  went  humbly,  yet  shyly,  down  to  the 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  415 

common  work-room,  and  took  her  place  among-  the 
publicans,  hoping  that  the  soul  of  some  outcast  might 
be  won  to  repentance.  Now  and  then  messages  of 
sympathy  reached  her  from  the  outside  world,  in  the 
form  of  flowers,  books,  magazines  ;  and  two  of  the 
jurors  who  convicted  her,  sent  from  time  to  time  gen 
erous  contributions  of  dainty  articles  that  materially 
promoted  her  comfort;  while  a  third,  whose  dead 
child  had  clung  to  her  Christmas  card,  eased  his  re 
gretful  pangs  by  the  gift  of  a  box  containing  paper, 
canvas,  crayons,  brushes,  paints,  and  all  requisite 
appliances  for  artistic  work. 

Sister  Serena  had  gone  on  a  labor  of  love,  to  a  dis 
tant  State  ;  and  faithful  Dyce,  hopelessly  crippled  by  a 
fall  from  the  mule  which  she  was  forcing  across  the 
bridge  leading  to  the  State  dungeon,  had  been  perma 
nently  consigned  to  the  wide  rocking  chair,  beside  her 
cabin  hearth  at  "  Elm  Bluff  ". 

It  was  a  bleak  night  in  January,  and  intensely  cold, 
when  Mrs.  Singleton  wrapped  a  shawl  about  her  head, 
and  ran  along  the  dark  corridor  to  the  cell,  where  Beryl 
was  walking  up  and  down  to  keep  herself  warm.  Only 
the  moonlight  illumined  it,  as  the  rays  fell  on  the  bare 
floor,  making  a  broad  band  of  silver  beneath  the  win 
dow. 

"  I  forgot  to  tell  you,  that  something-  very  dreadful 
happened  at  the  '  Lilacs '  last  week.  Judge  Dent  had 
a  stroke  of  paralysis  and  died  the  same  night.  As  if 
that  were  not  trouble  enough  to  last  for  a  while  at 
least,  the  house  took  fire  in  that  high  wind  yesterday, 
and  burned  to  the  ground  ;  leaving  poor  Miss  Patty 
Dent  without  a  roof  to  cover  her.  She  had  gone  to 
the  cemetery  to  carry  flowers  to  her  brother's  grave, 
and  when  she  returned,  it  was  too  late  to  save  any 
thing.  Miss  Gordon's  now  wing  cost  thousands  of 


i!6  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

dollars  and  was  furnished  like  a  palace,  so  I  am  told  , 
but  the  flames  destroyed  every  vestige  of  the  beautiful 
house,  and  the  pictures  and  statues.  It  seems  that  it 
was  heavily  insured,  but  money  can't  buy  the  old  por 
traits  and  family  silver,  the  mahogany  and  glass,  and 
the  yellow  damask — that  have  been  kept  in  the  Dent 
family  since  George  Washington  was  a  teething  baby; 
and  Miss  Patty  wails  loudest  over  the  loss  of  an  old, 
old  timey  communion  service,  that  the  -Dents  boasted 
Queen  Anne  gave  to  one  of  them,  who  was  an  Episcopal 
minister.  The  poor  old  soul  is  almost  crazy,  I  hear, 
and  Mr.  Dunbar  carries  her  to  New  York  to-morrow, 
where  she  has  a  nephew  living ;  and  next  month  she 
will  go  to  Europe  to  join  Miss  Gordon.  It  is  reported 
in  town,  that  when  Judge  Dent  died  so  suddenly,  Miss 
Patty  sent  a  cable  telegram  to  her  niece  to  come  home; 
but  earl}-  yesterday,  just  before  the  fire,  an  answer 
came  by  cable,  asking  Miss  Patty  to  come  to  Europe. 
Some  people  think  Mr.  Dunbar  intends  escorting  her, 
and  that  when  he  meets  Miss  Gordon,  the  marriage 
will  take  place  over  there ;  but  I  never  will  believe  that, 
till  it  happens." 

She  peered  curiously  into  the  face  of  her  listener,  but 
the  light  v7as  too  dim  to  enable  her  to  read  its  expres 
sion. 

"  Why  not  ?  Under  the  circumstances,  such  a  course 
seems  eminently  natural  and  proper." 

"Do  you  really  think  he  intends  marrying  ?" 

"  I  am  the  confidant  of  neither  the  gentleman  nor 
the  lady  ;  but  you  told  me  long  ago,  that  a  marriage 
engagement  existed  between  them ;  and  since  both 
have  shown  me  much  kindness  and  sympathy,  I 
sincerely  hope  their  united  lives  may  be  very  happy. 
If  Mr.  Dunbar  searched  the  universe,  he  could  scarce 
ly  find  Miss  Gordon's  equal,  certainly  not  her'  supe- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  417 

nor ;  a  nd  he  cannot  fail  to  appreciate  his  good  fortune  in 
winning1  her." 

Mrs.  Singleton  lifted  her  shoulder  significantly. 
"  Perhaps  !  but  you  can  never  be  sure  of  men.  They 
are  about  as  uncertain  calculations  as  the  hatching  of 
guinea  eggs,  or  the  sprouting  of  parsley  seed.  What 
is  theirs  can't  be  worth  much;  but  what  belongs 
to  somebody  else,  is  invaluable ;  moreover,  they  are 
liable  to  sudden  tantrums  of  sheer  obstinacy,  that  hang 
on  like  whooping-cough,  or  a  sprain  in  one's  joints. 
Did  you  never  see  a  mule  take  the  sulks  on  his  way  to 
the  corn  crib  and  the  fodder  rack,  and  refuse  to  budge, 
even  for  his  own  benefit  ?  Some  men  are  just  that  per 
verse.  Mr.  Dunbar  is  trailing  game,  worth  more  to 
him  at  present,  than  a  sweetheart  across  the  Atlantic 
Ocean ;  which  reminds  me  of  what  brought  me  here. 
He  asked  Ned  to-day,  if  you  saw  Mr.  Darrington  yester 
day  when  he  came  here  ;  and  learning  that  you  did  not, 
he  gave  him  this  paper,  which  he  said  would  explain 
what  the  Legislature  did  last  month,  about  declaring 
you  of  age.  Ned  told  him  you  signed  some  document 
Mr.  Wolverton  brought  here  last  week,  which  secured 
all  the  property  to  Mr.  Darrington,  and  he  said  ho  had 
been  informed  of  the  transaction,  and  that  Mr.  Darring 
ton  would  soon  go  back  to  Germany.  Then  he  added: 
'  Singleton,  present  my  respects  to  Miss  Brentano  UM-! 
tell  her,  I  am  happy  to  say  that  my  trip  West  last  sum 
mer  was  riot  entirely  unsuccessful.  It  has  furnished 
me  with  a  very  valuable  clue.  She  will  understand.' 
Oh,  dear !  how  bitterly  cold  it  is  !  Come  to  my  room, 
and  get  thoroughly  thawed ;  Ned  is  down  stairs,  arid 
the  children  are  asleep." 

"  No,  thank  you  ;  I  should  only  feel  the  cold  more, 
when  I  came  back." 


418  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"Then  take  my  shawl  and  cover  your  ears  and 
throat.  There,  you  must.  Good  night." 

She  closed  the  door,  and  fled  down  the  long  black 
passage,  to  the  bright  cozy  room,  where  her  babes 
slumbered. 

Slowly  Beryl  resumed  her  walk  from  window  to 
door,  from  bar  to  bar,  but  of  the  stinging  cold  she 
grew  oblivious ;  and  the  blood  burned  in  her  cheeks 
and  throbbed  with  almost  suffocating  violence  at  her 
heart. 

She  comprehended  fully  the  significance  of  the 
message,  and  dared  not  comfort  herself  with  the  sup 
position  that  it  was  prompted  by  a  spirit  of  bravado. 

To  what  quarter  of  the  globe  was  he  tracking  the 
desperate  culprit,  who  had  fled  sorely  wounded  from 
his  murderous  assault?  Ignorant  of  his  mother's 
death,  and  of  his  sister's  expiatory  incarceration,  might 
not  Bertie  venture  back  to  the  great  city,  where  she 
had  last  seen  him ;  and  be  trapped  by  those  wily 
"  Qucestores  Paricidii  "  of  the  nineteenth  century — 
special  detectives  ? 

Fettered,  muzzled  by  the  stone  walls  of  her  dungeon, 
she  could  send  him  no  warning,  could  only  pray  and 
endure,  while  she  and  her  reckless,  wayward  brother 
drifted  helplessly  down  the  dark,  swift  river  of  doom. 
At  every  revival  of  fears  for  his  safety,  up  started  the 
j  nighty  temptation  that  never  slumbered,  to  confess  all 
to  Mr.  Dunbar  ;  but  as  persistently  she  took  it  by  the 
throat,  and  crushed  it  back,  resolved  at  all  hazards  to 
secure,  if  possible,  the  happiness  of  the  woman  who  had 
trusted  her. 

In  the  midst  of  the  wreck  of  her  life,  out  of  the 
depths  of  the  dust  of  humiliation,  had  sprung  the  beau 
tiful  blossom  of  love,  shedding  its  intoxicating  fragrance 
over  ruin;  yet,  because  the  asp  of  treachery  lurked  in 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  410 

the  exquisite,  folded  petals,  she  shut  her  eyes  to  the  be 
wildering-  loveliness,  and  loyally  strove  to  tear  it  up  by 
the  roots,  to  trample  it  out ;  learning-  thereby,  that  the 
fibrous  thread  had  struck  deep  into  her  own  heart,  de 
fying  ejectment. 

She  had  forbidden  his  visits,  interdicted  letters  ;  but 
she  could  not  expel  the  vision  of  a  dear  face  that  haunted 
her  memory ;  nor  exorcise  the  spell  of  a  voice  that  had 
first  thrilled  her  pulses  when  pleading  with  the  jury  in 
her  behalf. 

Sometimes  she  wondered  whether  she  had  been  created 
as  a  mere  sentient  plummet  to  sound  every  gulf  of 
human  woe  ;  then  humbly  recanted  the  impious  repin 
ing,  and  thanked  God  that,  at  least,  she  had  been 
spared  that  deepest  of  all  abysses,  the  Hades  of  remorse. 
That  which  comes  to  most  women  as  the  supreme 
earthly  joy — the  consciousness  of  possessing  the  heart 
of  the  man  they  love,  fell  upon  Beryl  like  the  lash  of 
flagellation ;  rendering  doubly  fierce  the  battle  of  re 
nunciation,  which  she  fought,  knowing  that  sedition 
and  treason  were  raising  the  standard  of  revolt  within 
the  fortress. 

During  the  eight  months  that  had  elapsed  since  Leo 
sailed  for  Europe,  Beryl  had  exchanged  no  word  with 
Mr.  D unbar ;  but  twice  a  sudden,  tumultuous  leaping 
of  her  heart  surprised  her  at  sight  of  him,  standing 
in  the  door  of  the  chapel;  watching  her  as  she  sat 
within  the  altar  rail,  playing  the  little  organ,  while  the 
convict  congregation  stood  up  to  sing.  Although  no 
name  was  ever  appended,  she  knew  what  hand  had 
directed  the  various  American  and  foreign  art  maga 
zines,  which  brought  their  argosy  of  beauty  to  divert 
and  gladden  her  sombre  meditations. 

On  Christmas  morning,  the  second  of  her  sojourn 
within  penitentiary  walls,  the  express  messenger  had 


4:20  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

brought  to  the  door  of  her  cell,  two  packages ;  one  a 
glowing  heart  of  crimson  and  purple  passion  flowers, 
the  other  an  exquisite  engraving  of  Sir  Frederick 
Leighton's  "  Hercules  Wrestling  with  Death"  ;  and 
below  the  printed  title,  she  recognized  the  bold  charac 
ters  traced  in  red  ink  :  "  The  Alcestis  you  emulate." 
To-night,  a  ray  of  moonlight  crept  across  the  wall, 
and  shivered  its  silver  over  the  rigid  face  of  the  dead 
\vife  in  the  picture ;  and  the  prisoner,  gazing  mourn- 
!::'ly  at  it,  comprehended  that  her  own  fate  was  sadder 

han  that  of  the  immortal  Greek  devotee.  To  die  for 
Admctus  after  he  had  sworn  on  the  altar  of  his  gods, 

hat  he  would  spend  alone  the  remainder  of  his  days, 
solaced  by  no  fair  successor,  dedicating  his  fidelity  to 
appease  her  manes,  was  comparatively  easy  ;  but  to 
turn  away,  voluntarily  resign  the  man  she  loved,  and 
ass  st  in  forging  the  links  which  she  must  live  to  see 
chaining  him  to  a  happy  rival,  were  an  ordeal  more 
appalling  to  Alcestis  than  premature  descent  into  the 
dusky  realm  of  Persephone. 

To  secure  to  her  brother  immunity  from  pursuit, 
and  to  Miss  Gordon  the  allegiance  of  the  husband  of 
her  choice,  was  the  problem  that  banished  sleep  and 
kept  Beryl  pacing  the  floor,  until  welcome  day  hung 
h'.T  orange  mantle  over  the  quivering  splendor  of  the 
morning  star.  One  final  effort  was  all  that  seemed 
possible  now ;  and  kneeling  before  the  table  she  wrote 
and  sealed  a  note,  to  be  delivered  before  the  express 
train  bore  the  lawyer  away  on  his  journey : 

"Your  message  was  received,  and  it  has  so  dis 
quieted  and  alarmed  me  that  I  am  forced  to  treat  for 
peace.  If  you  will  cancel  your  police  contracts,  cease 
your  search,  go  to  Europe  with  Miss  Dent,  and  pledge 
me  your  honor  to  marry  Miss  Gordon  before  you  re 
turn,  I  will  solemnly  promise,  bind  myself  in  the  sight 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

of  the  God  I  serve,  to  live  and  to  die  Beryl  Brentano ; 
and  never,  without  your  consent  and  permission,  will 
I  look  again  on  the  face  of  the  man  whom  you  are 
hunting-  to  death.  The  assurance  of  his  safety  will 
atone  for  all  you  have  made  me  suffer ;  will  nerve  me 
to  bear  whatever  the  future  may  hold.  You  will  im 
agine  you  understand,  but  it  is  impossible  that  you 
can  ever  realize  the  nature  of  the  pain  this  proposal  in 
volves  for  me;  nevertheless,  if  you  accept  and  keep 
the  compact,  I  believe  you  know  that,  at  all  costs,  1 
shall  never  forfeit  the  pledged  word  of 

"  BERYL  BRENTANO." 

When  marriage  vows  had  irrevocably  committed 
Leo's  happiness  to  his  honor,  it  might  then  be  safe  to 
tell  him  the  truth,  and  solicit  release  from  the  self- 
imposed  terms.  Five  hours  later,  she  received  an 
answer : 

"  A  trifle  too  late,  you  unfurled  the  flag  of  truce. 
With  my  game  in  sight,  I  decline  to  forego  the  chase. 
For  your  solicitude  regarding  my  marriage,  I  tender 
my  thanks  ;  and  the  assurance,  that  no  magnet  can 
draw,  not  all  the  charms  of  Circe  lure  me  across  the 
Atlantic,  until  I  have  accomplished  my  purpose.  The 
tardiness  of  your  proposal  is  unerring  appraiser  of  its 
costliness ;  and  I  were  a  monster  of  cruelty  to  debar 
you  the  sight  of  your  idol,  though  I  bring  him  with 
the  grim  garniture  of  chains  and  handcuffs.  When  I 
consign  Miss  Dent  to  her  relatives  in  New  York,  I  go 
to  a  miners'  camp  in  Dakota,  to  identify  a  man  bear 
ing  the  marks  of  one  who  fled  from  X ,  and  lost 

his  pipe,  on  the  night  he  murdered  Gen'l  Darrington. 

"DUNBAR." 

To  temporize  longer  would  be  fatal  to  Bertie ;  and 
no  alternative  remained  but  to  tell  the  simple  truth. 

Without  an  instant's  delay  she  took  up  her  pen,  but 
ere  half  a  line  had  been  traced  on  the  paper,  a  hoarse 
whistle,  somewhat  muffled  by  distance,  told  her  the  at- 


AT  THE  MEROY  OF  TIBERITJ*. 

tempt  was  futile  ;  and  through  the  valley  beyond  the 
river  a  trailing  serpent  of  black  smoke  showed  the  ex 
press  train  darting  northward.  The  attorney  had  left 

X ,  but  might  linger  in  New  York  sufficiently  long 

for  a  letter  to  reach  him ;  and  doubtless  his  address 
could  be  learned  at  his  office  : 

"  If  Mr.  Dunbar  will  give  me  an  opportunity  of  ac 
quainting  him  with  some  facts,  he  is  anxious  to  dis 
cover,  he  shall  find  it  unnecessary  to  travel  to 
Dakota ;  and  will  thank  me  for  saving  him  from  the 
long  journey  he  contemplates.  B.  B.; 


>  ? 


The  sun  was  setting  when  Mr.  Singleton  returned 
from  the  attorney's  office,  and  held  out  the  note  which 
he  had  been  instructed  to  address  and  deposit  in  the 
mail. 

"If  it  is  a  matter  of  any  importance,  I  am  sorry 
to  tell  you  that  this  cannot  reach  Mr.  Dunbar  imme 
diately.  He  goes  only  as  far  as  Philadelphia,  where 
Miss  Dent's  nephew  meets  her;  then  Dunbar  travels 
right  on  West  without  stopping,  till  he  reaches  Bis 
marck.  He  left  instructions  at  his  office  to  retain  all  mail 
matter  here,  for  a  couple  of  weeks,  then  forward  to 
Washington  City ;  as  business  would  detain  him  there 
some  days  after  his  return  from  the  west.  Good 
gracious !  how  white  your  lips  are.  Sit  down.  What 
ails  you  ?" 

She  put  her  hand  over  her  eyes,  and  tried  to  collect 
her  thoughts.  To  suffer  so  long,  so  keenly,  and  yet 
lose  the  victory;  could  it  be  possible  that  her  sacri 
fice  would  prove  utterly  futile  ? 

"Mr.  Singleton,  you  have  shown  me  many  times 
your  friendly  sympathy,  and  I  am  again  forced  to  tax 
your  kindness.  It  is  important  that  I  should  see  or 
communicate  with  Mr.  Dunbar  within  the  next  forty- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  423 

eight  hours.  Could  you  induce  the  telegraph  operator 
here  to  have  a  message  delivered  to  him  on  the  train, 
before  it  reaches  Washington  City  ?" 

"  I  will  certainly  do  my  best;  and  to  insure  it  I  will 
go  to  the  railroad  operator,  who  understands  the 
stations,  and  can  catch  D unbar  more  easily  than  a  mes 
sage  from  the  general  office.  Write  out  your  telegram, 
while  I  order  my  buggy." 

"  MR.  DUNBAR.     On  board  Train  No.  2. 

"  Please  let  me  see  you  before  you  go  West.  I 
promise  information  that  will  render  you  unwilling  to 
make  the  journey  to  Bismarck.  B.  B." 

Anxiously  she  computed  the  time  within  which  an 
answer  might  reasonably  be  expected  ;  and  her  heart 
dwelt  as  a  suppliant  before  God,  that  the  message 
would  avail  to  arrest  pursuit ;  but  hours  wore  wearily 
away,  tedious  days  trod  upon  the  slow  skirts  of  dreary 
nights;  and  no  response  lifted  the  burden  of  dread. 
Hope  whispered  feebly  that  his  failure  to  send  a  tele 
graphic  reply,  implied  his  intention  of  returning  to 
X—  -from  Philadelphia;  and  she  clung  to  this  rope 
of  sand  until  a  week  had  passed.  Then  the  conviction 
was  inevitable  that  he  regarded  her  appeal  as  merely 
a  ruse  to  divert  his  course,  to  delay  the  seizure  of-  his 
prey  ;  and  that  while  he  misinterpreted  the  motive 
liat  prompted  her  message,  she  had  merely  furnished 
an  additional  goad  to  his  jealous  hatred. 

As  helpless  wrack  borne  on  the  sullen  tide  of  destiny, 
she  struck  her  trembling  hands  together,  and  cried  out 
in  the  dark  solitude  of  her  cell :  "  Verily  !  The  stars  in 
their  courses  fought  against  Sisera." 


424  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

'T^HE  winter  was  marked  by  an  unusual  severity  of 
cold,  which  prolonged  the  rigor  of  mid-season 
until  late  in  February,  and  despite  the  efforts  of  pen 
itentiary  officials  who  made  unprecedented  requisitions 
upon  the  board  of  inspectors,  for  additional  clothing, 
the  pent  human  herd  suffered  keenly. 

Alarmed  by  the  rapidly  increasing  rate  of  sickness 
within  the  "  walls,"  Mr.  Singleton  demanded  a  sanitary 
commission,  which,  after  apparently  thorough  inves 
tigation,  reported  no  visible  local  cause  for  the  mortal 
ity  among  the  convicts ;  but  the  germs  of  disease  grew 
swiftly  as  other  evil  weeds,  and  the  first  week  in  March 
saw  a  hideous  harvest  of  diphtheria  of  the  most 
malignant  type. 

At  the  earliest  intimation  of  the  character  of  the 
pestilence,  the  warden's  wife  fled  with  her  little  chil 
dren  to  her  mother's  home  in  a  neighboring  county ; 
maternal  solicitude  having  extinguished  her  womanly 
reluctance  to  desert  her  husband,  at  a  juncture  when 
her  presence  and  assistance  would  so  materially  have 
cheered,  and  lightened  his  labors.  An  attempt  was 
made  to  isolate  the  first  case  in  the  hospital,  but 
the  cots  in  that  spacious  apartment  filled  beyond 
the  limits  of  accommodation;  and  soon,  a  large  pro 
portion  of  the  cells  on  the  ground  floor  held  each  its 
victim  of  the  fatal  disease,  that  as  the  sc37the  of  death 
cut  a  wide  swath  through  convict  ranks.  Consulting 
physicians  walked  through  the  infected  ward,  altered 
prescriptions,  advised  disinfectants  which  were  liberally 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

used,  nntil  the  building  seemed  to  exhale  pungent, 
wholesome,  but  unsavory  odors ;  yet  there  was  no 
abatement  in  the  virulence  of  the  type.  When  tho 
twenty-third  case  was  entered  on  the  hospital  list,  the 
trustees  and  inspectors  determined  to  remove  all  who 
showed  no  symptom  of  the  contagion,  to  an  old,  long- 
abandoned  cotton  factory  several  miles  distant ;  where 
the  vacant  houses  of  former  operatives  would  afford 
temporary  shelter;  and  to  diminish  the  chances  of 
carrying  infection,  each  prisoner  was  carefully  ex 
amined  by  the  attending  physician,  and  then  furnished 
with  an  entirely  new  suit  of  clothing. 

When  the  nature  of  the  epidemic  could  no  longer  be 
concealed  from  the  inmates,  instinctive  horror  drove 
them  from  the  neighborhood  of  the  victims,  and  like 
frightened  sheep  they  huddled  in  remote  corners,  re 
moved  as  far  as  possible  from  the  infected  precincts, 
and  loath  to  minister  to  the  needs  of  the  sufferers. 

Two  men,  and  as  many  women,  selected  and  detailed 
as  nurses  in  their  respective  wards,  openly  rebelled  ; 
and  while  Doctor  Moffat  and  Mr.  Singleton  were  dis 
cussing  the  feasibility  of  procuring  outside  assistance, 
the  door  of  the  dispensary  adjoining  the  hospital, 
opened,  and  Beryl  walked  up  to  the  table,  where  med» 
icines  were  weighed  and  mixed. 

"  Put  me  to  work  among  the  sick.  I  want  to  help 
you." 

"  You !  What  could  you  do  ?  I  should  as  soon  take 
a  magnolia  blossom  to  scrub  the  pots  and  pans  of  a 
filthy  kitchen,"  answered  the  doctor,  looking  up  over 
his  spectacles  from  the  powder  he  was  grinding  in  a 
glass  mortar. 

"  I  can  follow  your  directions  ;  I  can  obey  orders ; 
and  physicians  deem  that  the  sine  qua  non  in  nurses. 
Closed  lips,  open  ears,  willing  hands  are  supposed  to 


426  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS 

outweigh    any  amount    of    unlicensed    brains.      Try 
me." 

"No.  I  am  not  willing.  Go  back  up-stairs,  and 
stay  there,"  said  the  warden. 

"  Why  may  I  not  assist  in  nursing  ?" 

"  In  the  first  place  you  are  not  fit  to  mix  with  those 
poor  creatures,  in  yonder  ;  their  oaths  would  curdle 
your  blood ;  and  in  the  second,  you  are  not  strong, 
and  would  be  sure  to  take  the  disease  at  once." 

"  I  am  perfectly  well ;  my  lungs  are  now  as  healthy 
as  yours,  and  I  am  not  afraid  of  diphtheria.  You 
detailed  nurses,  who  refused  to  serve;  I  volunteer; 
have  you  any  right  to  reject  me  ?" 

"  Yes,  the  right  to  protect  and  save  your  life,  which 
is  worth  twenty  of  those  already  in  danger,"  replied 
Mr.  Singleton,  pausing  in  his  task  of  filling  capsules 
with  quinine. 

"  Who  made  you  a  judge  of  the  value  of  souls  ?  My 
life  belongs  first  to  God,  who  gave  it,  next  to  myself; 
and  if  I  choose  to  jeopardize  it,  in  work  among  my 
suffering  comrades  in  disgrace,  you  must  not  usurp 
tLe  authority  to  prevent  me." 

11  Has  it  become  sc  hitolcrable  that  you  desire  to 
rorumit  suicide,  uMer  the  specious  plea  of  philan- 
th^opic  martyrdom  ?"  said  Doctor  Moffat,  whose  keen 
black  eyes  scanned  her  closely,  from  beneath  shaggy 
gray  brows. 

"I  think  I  may  safely  say,  no  such  selfish  motive 
underlies  my  resolution.  My  heart  is  full  of  pity,  and 
of  dread  for  some  women  here,  who  admit  their  guilt, 
yet  have  scu/^bt  no  pardon  from  the  Maker  their  sins 
insult.  Sick  souls  cry  out  to  me  louder  than  dying 
bodies  •  and  who  dare  deny  me  the  privilege  of  minis 
tering  to  brth  ?  The  parable  of  the  sparrows  is  no 
fable  Vj  rr^  t  and  if,  while  trying-  to  comfort  my  un- 


AT  THE  MEROY  OF  TIBERIUS.  427 

happy  associates  here,  God  calls  me  out  of  this  dans 
stony  vineyard,  His  will  alone  overrules  all ;  and  I 
can  meet  His  face  in  peace.  We  say :  '  Lord  what 
wilt  Thou  have  us  to  do  ?'  and  when  the  answer  comes, 
pointing-  us  to  perilous  and  loathsome  labors,  will  He 
forget  if  we  shut  our  eyes,  and  turn  away,  coveting  the 
sunny  fields  into  which  He  sent  others  to  toil  ?  Let 
me  go  to  my  work." 

During-  almost  eighteen  months,  both  men  had 
studied  her  character  as  manifested  in  the  trying 
phases  of  prison  existence,  finding-  no  flaw;  to-day 
they  looked  up  reverently  at  the  graceful  form  in  its 
homespun  uniform,  at  the  calm,  colorless  face,  wearing 
its  crown  of  meekness,  with  an  inalienable,  proud  air  of 
cold  repose. 

"  To  keep  you  here  is  about  as  sacrilegious  as  it 
would  have  been  to  thrust  St.  Catherine  among-  the 
chain-gang  in  the  galleys/'  muttered  the  doctor. 

"No  doubt  duty  called  her  to  much  worse  places; 
therefore,  when  she  died,  the  angels  buried  her  on 
Sinai,"  answered  the  prisoner ;  before  whose  wistful 
eyes  drifted  the  memory  of  Luini's  picture. 

"  You  have  set  your  heart  on  this ;  nothing  less  will 
content  you?" 

"While  the  necessity  continues,  nothing  less  will 
content  me." 

"  Remember,  you  voluntarily  take  your  life  in  your 
own  hands." 

' '  I  assume  the  entire  responsibility  for  any  risk 
incurred." 

"  Then,  I  wish  you  God  speed;  for  the  narvest  is 
white,  the  laborers  few." 

"  Why,  doctor !  I  relied  on  you  to  help  me  keep 
her  out  of  reach.  If  anything  happens,  how  shall  I 
pacify  Susie?  She  made  me  promise  every  possible 


428  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

care  of  her  favorite.  Look  here,  only  an  hour  ago  I 
received  a  letter  and  this  package  marked,  '  One  for 
Ned  ;  the  other  for  Miss  Beryl.'  Two  little  red  flannel 
safety  bags,  cure-alls,  to  be  tied  around  our  necks, 
close  to  our  noses,  as  if  we  could  not  smell  them  a  half 
mile  off  ?  Assafretida,  garlic,  camphor,  '  jimson  weed/ 
valerian  powder — phew  !  What  not  ?  Mixed  as  a 
voudoo  chowder,  and  a  scent  twice  as  loud  !" 
,  "Be  thankful  your  wife  is  not  here  to  enforce  the 
wearing  of  the  sanitary  sachet"  said  the  doctor,  al 
lowing  himself  a  grimace  of  contemptuous  disgust. 

"  So  I  am;  but  being  a  bachelor,  answerable  only  to 
yourself,  you  cannot  understand  how  absence  does  not 
exonerate  me  from  the  promise  made  when  she  started 
away.  I  would  sooner  face  an  'army  with  banners/ 
than  that  little  brown-eyed  woman  of  mine  when  she 
takes  the  lapel  of  my  coat  in  one  hand,  raises  the  fore- 
linger  of  the  other,  turns  her  head  sideways  like  a 
thrush  watching  a  wriggling  worm,  and  says,  in  a  voice 
that  rises  as  fast  as  the  sound  a  mouse  makes  racing 
up  the  treble  of  the  piano  keys :  '  Ump!  whew!  Didn't 
I  tell  you  so  ?  The  minute  my  back  was  turned,  of 
course  you  made  ducks  and  drakes  of  all  your  promises. 
Show  me  a  "  Flying  Jenney,"  that  the  tip  end  of  any 
idiot's  little  finger  can  spin  around,  and  I'll  christen 
it  Edward  McTwaddle  Singleton !'  Seems  funny  to 
you,  doctor  ?  Just  wait  till  you  are  married,  and  your 
Susan  shuts  the  door  and  interviews  you,  picking  a 
whole  flock  of  crows,  till  you  wonder  if  it  isn't  raining 
black  feathers.  When  I  am  taken  to  taw  about  this 
nursing  business,  I  shall  lose  no  time  in  laying  the 
blame  on  you." 

"  I  will  assure  Mrs.  Singleton  that  you  endeavored 
to  dissuade  me ;  and  that  you  faithfully  kept  your 
promise  to  shield  me  from  danger  " 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"  Which  she  will  not  believe,  because  she  knows  that 
I  have  the  power  to  lock  you  up  indefinitely.  Besides, 
if  you  live  to  explain  matters,  there  will  be  no  necessi 
ty  ;  but  suppose  you  do  not  ?  You  are  running  into 
the  jaws  of  an  awful  danger,  and  if — " 

His  frank,  pleasant  countenance  clouded,  he  gnawed 
his  mustache,  and  the  question  ended  in  a  long  sigh. 
After  a  moment,  a  low,  sweet  voice  completed  the 
sentence : 

"  If  I  should  die,  your  tender-hearted  wife  is  so  truly 
and  faithfully  my  friend,  that  she  could  not  regret  to 
hear  I  have  entered  into  my  rest." 

There  was  a  brief  silence,  during  which  the  physician 
crossed  the  floor,  opened  a  glass  door  and  surveyed  the 
stock  of  drugs.  When  he  came  back,  and  took  up  the 
pestle,  he  spoke  with  solemn  emphasis  : 

"  This  is  the  most  malignant  type  of  an  alwaj^s 
dangerous  disease  that  I  have  ever  encountered  ;  and 
constant  exposure  to  it,  without  the  careful,  persistent 
use  of  tonic  and  disinfectant  precautions,  would  be 
tantamount  to  walking  unvaccinated  into  a  pest-house, 
where  people  were  dying  of  confluent  small-pox.  1 
have  no  desire  to  frighten,  but  it  is  proper  that  I  should 
warn  you ;  and  insist  upon  the  duty  of  watching  your 
own  health  as  closely  as  the  symptoms  of  the  victims 
you  are  desirous  of  nursing.  Will  you  follow  the  reg 
imen  I  shall  prescribe  for  yourself?" 

"  Implicitly." 

The  warden  finished  filling-  the  capsules,  rose  and 
looked  at  his  watch. 

"  As  far  as  the  chances  go,  it  is  'heads  I  win,  tails 
you  lose ';  and  sorry  enough  I  am  to  see  you  come  down 
and  dare  the  pestilence  ;  but  since  here  you  are,  I  might 
as  well  say  what  I  was  asked  to  tell  you  last  night. 
For  your  sake  I  kept  silent ;  now  since  you  persist,  I 


430  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

wash  my  hands  of  all  responsibility  for  the  consequences. 
You  have  heard  the  history  of  the  woman  Iva  Le 
Bougeois,  better  known  in  the  ( walls  '  as  the  *  Bloody 
Duchess'.  Two  days  ago  the  scourge  struck  her  down; 
she  is  very  ill,  the  worst  symptoms  have  appeared,  and 
she  is  almost  frantic  with  terror.  Last  night,  at  12 
o'clock,  I  was  going  the  rounds  of  the  sick  wards, 
and  found  her  wringing  her  hands,  and  running  up  and 
down  the  cell  like  a  maniac.  I  tried  to  quiet  and  en 
courage  her,  but  she  paid  no  more  attention  than  if  stone 
deaf ;  and  when  I  started  to  leave  her,  she  seized  my 
arm,  and  begged  me  to  ask  you  to  come  and  stay  with 
her.  She  thinks  if  you  would  sing  for  her,  she  could 
listen,  and  forget  the  horrible  things  that  haunt  her. 
It  is  positively  sickening  to  see  her  terror  at  the  thought 
of  death.  Poor,  desperate  creature." 

"  Yet  you  withheld  her  message  when  I  might  have 
comforted  her  ?" 

"  It  was  a  crazy  whim.  In  hardened  cases  like  hers, 
death-bed  remorse  counts  for  very  little.  Her  con 
science  is  lashing  her;  could  you  quiet  that?  Could 
you  bleach  out  the  blood  that  spots  her  soul  ?" 

"  Yes,  by  leading  her  to  One  who  can." 

"  Remember,  you  asked  me  as  a  special  favor  to  keep 
you  as  far  apart  as  possible  from  all  of  her  class." 

"  At  that  time,  overwhelmed  by  the  misery  of  my 
own  fate,  I  was  pitiless  to  the  sufferings  of  others. 
The  rod  that  smote  me  was  very  cruel  then ;  but  by  de 
grees  it  seems  to  bud  like  Aaron's  with  precious 
promise,  that  may  expand  into  the  immortal  flowers 
of  souls  redeemed.  I  dwelt  too  long  in  the  seat  of  the 
Pharisees;  I  shall  live  closer  to  God,  walking  humbly 
among  the  Publicans.  Will  you  show  me  the  way  to 
the  woman  who  wishes  to  see  me?" 

"Not  yet.    There  are  some  instructions  that  must 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  431 

be  carefully  weighed  before  I  can  install  you  as  nurse, 
in  that  dismal  mire  of  moral  and  physical  corruption. 
Singleton,  send  the  hospital  steward  to  me." 

There  are  spectacles  which  brand  themselves  so 
ineffaceably  upon  memory,  that  time  has  no  power  to 
impair  their  vividness ;  and  of  such  were  some  of  the 
scenes  witnessed  by  the  new  nurse. 

Sitting  on  the  side  of  her  cot,  from  which  the  gray 
blanket  had  been  dragged  and  folded  half  across  her 
shoulders,  where  one  hand  held  it,  while  the  other 
clutched  savagely  at  her  throat;  with  her  bare  delicate 
feet  beating  a  tattoo  on  the  white  sanded  floor,  and 
her  thin  nostrils  dilated  in  the  battle  for  breath,  Iva 
Le  Bougeois  moaned  in  abject  terror.  The  coarse, 
unbleached  "domestic"  night-gown  that  fell  to  her 
ankles  was  streaked  across  the  bosom  with  some  dark 
brown  fluid ;  and  similar  marks  stained  the  pillow 
where  her  restless  head  had  tossed.  The  hot  eyes  and 
parched  red  lips  seemed  to  have  drained  all  the  tainted 
blood  from  her  olive  cheeks,  save  where,  just  beneath 
the  lower  lids,  ominous  terra-cotta  rings  had  been 
painted  and  glazed  by  the  disease. 

As  Beryl  pushed  open  the  iron  door,  and  held  up  the 
lantern,  that  its  brightness  might  stream  into  the  cell, 
where  even  at  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  a  rainy 
day  darkness  reigned,  the  rays  flashed  back  from  the 
glowing  eyes  chatoyant  as  a  cougar's. 

"  Your  message  was  not  delivered  until  to-day,  and  I 
lost  no  time  in  coming." 

The  small  head,  where  short,  straight,  blue-black 
locks,  rumpled  and  disordered,  were  piled  elflshly 
around  the  low  brow,  was  thrown  up  with  the  swift 
movement  of  some  startled  furry  animal,  alert  even  in 
the  throes  of  death. 


432  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"Is  all  hope  over?  Did  they  tell  you  there  is  no 
chance  for  me?" 

The  voice  was  hoarse  and  thick,  the  articulation  in 
distinct  and  smothered. 

"No.  They  think  you  very  ill,  but  still  hope  th* 
remedies  will  save  you.  The  doctor  says  your  fin« 
constitution  ought  to  conquer  the  disease." 

"  I  am  beyond  the  remedy — because  I  can't  swallow 
any  longer.  Since  the  doctor  left  me,  I  have  tried 
and  tried.  See — " 

From  a  bench  within  reach,  she  lifted  a  small  yellov. 
bowl,  which  contained  a  dark  mixture,  put  it  to  hei 
lips,  and  chafing-  her  swollen  glands,  attempted  severa- 
times  to  swallow  the  liquid.  A  gurgling  sound  be 
trayed  the  futility  of  the  effort,  the  medicine  gushed 
from  her  nose,  the  eyes  seemed  starting  from  their 
sockets,  and  even  the  husky  cry  of  the  sufferer  was 
strangled,  as  she  cowered  down. 

"  Compose  yourself ;  nervousness  increases  the  diffi 
culty.  Once  I  had  diphtheria,  and  could  not  swallow 
for  two  days,  yet  I  recovered.  Be  quiet,  and  let  me 
try  to  help  you." 

Kneeling  in  front  of  her,  Beryl  turned  up  the  wick  of 
the  lantern,  and  with  a  small  brush  attached  to  a  sil  ver 
wire,  finally  succeeded  in  cauterizing  and  removing  a 
portion  of  the  poisonous  growth  that  was  rapidly 
narrowing  the  avenue  of  breath.  The  spasm  of  cough 
ing  that  ensued  was  Nature's  auxiliary  effort,  and 
temporarily  relieved  the  tightening  clutch. 

After  a  few  moments,  a  dose  of  the  medicine  was 
successfully  administered ;  and  then  the  slender,  shape 
ly  brown  hand  of  the  woman  grasped  the  nurse's  blue 
homespun  dress. 

"  Don't  leave  me !  Save  me.  Oh,  don't  let  me 
strangle  here  alone— in  the  dark;  don't  let  me  die! 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  433 

I'm  not  fit.  I  know  where  I  shall  go.  It's  not  the 
devil  I  dread  ;  I  have  known  many  devils  in  this  world, 
—but  God.  I  am  afraid  of  God  !" 

"  Lie  down,  and  cover  your  shoulders.  If  it  comforts 
you  to  have  me,  I  will  stay  gladly.  The  doctor,  the 
warden,  all  of  us  will  do  what  we  can  to  cure  you  ;  but 
the  help  you  need  most,  can  come  only  from  one  whose 
pity  is  greater  and  tenderer  than  ours,  your  merciful 
God.  Lift  up  your  heart  in  prayer  to  him  ;  ask  him 
to  forgive  your  sins,  and  spare  you  to  lead  a  better 
life." 

"  He  would  not  hear,  because  He  knows  how  black 
my  heart  has  been  all  these  years  ;  since  I  gave  my 
self  up  to  hate  and  cursing.  You  can't  understand — 
you  are  not  one  of  us.  You  are  as  much  out  of  place 
here,  as  one  of  the  angels  would  be,  held  over  the 
flames  of  torment  till  the  wings  singed.  From  the 
first  time  we  saw  you  in  the  chapel,  and  more  and  more 
ever  since,  we  found  out  you  did  not  belong  here.  I 
have  been  so  wicked — so  wicked — !" 

She  paused,  panting,  then  hurried  on. 

"  When  the  chaplain  tried  to  talk  to  me,  and  gave 
me  a  book  to  read,  I  dashed  it  back  in  his  face,  and  in 
sulted  him.  One  Saturday  they  sent  me  to  sweep  out 
and  dust  the  chapel,  and  when  I  finished,  I  laid  down 
on  one  of  the  benches  to  rest.  You  went  in  to  practise, 
not  knowing  I  was  there ;  and  began  to  sing.  As  I 
listened,  something  seemed  to  stir  and  wake  up  in  my 
heart,  and  somehow  the  music  shook  me  out  of  myself. 
There  was  one  hymn,  so  solemn,  so  thrilling,  and  the 
cud  of  every  verse  was,  '  Oh,  Lamb  of  God !  I  come !' 
— a.nd  you  sang  it  with  a  great  cry,  as  if  you  were 
running  to  meet  some  one.  I  had  not  wept — for  oh  ! 
i  don't  know  how  long — not  since — .  Then  you  played 
011  the  orgun  some  variations  on  a  tune — '  The  Sweet 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

By-and-By ' — and  the  tears  started,  and  I  seemed  but 
a  leaf  in  a  wild  storm.  That  was  the  song  my  little 
boy  used  to  sing1 !  There  was  a  Sunday-school  in  the 
basement  of  a  church  next  to  our  house,  and  he  would 
stand  at  the  window,  and  listen  till  he  caught  the  tune, 
and  learned  the  words.  Oh,  that  hymn  !  Every  note 
stung  me  like  a  whip  lash  when  I  heard  it  again.  My 
child's  face  as  I  saw  him  the  last  time  I  put  him  to 
bed ;  when  he  opened  his  drowsy  eyes,  and  raised  up 
to  kiss  me  good-night,  came  back  to  me,  and  seemed 
to  sing,  '  In  the  sweet  by-and-by,  we  shall  meet  on  that 
beautiful  shore.'  No — never — never!  Oh,  my  boy! 
My  beautiful  angel  Max — there  is  no  room  for  me,  on 
that  heavenly  shore !  Oh !  my  darling — there  is  no 
'  Sweet  by-and-by '  for  mother  now." 

She  had  started  up,  with  arms  clasped  around  her 
knees,  and  her  convulsed  face  lifted  toward  the  low 
ceiling  of  the  cell,  writhed,  as  she  drew  her  breath  in 
hissing  gasps. 

"  You  loved  your  little  boy  ?" 

' '  You  are  not  a  mother,  or  you  wouldn't  ask  me 
that.  If  ever  you  had  felt  your  baby's  sweet  warm 
lips  on  yours,  you  would  know  that  it  is  mother-love 
that  makes  tigers  of  women.  Because  I  idolized  my 
little  one,  I  could  not  bear  the  cruel  wrong  of  having 
him  torn  from  me,  taught  to  despise  me ;  and  so  I 
loved  him  best  when  I  slew  him,  and  I  was  so  mad, 
with  the  delirium  of  pain  and  rage  and  despair,  that  I 
forgot  I  was  putting  the  gulf  of  perdition  between  us. 
Rather  than  submit  to  separation  in  this  world,  than 
have  hun  raised  by  them,  to  turn  away  from  his 
mother  as  a  thing  too  vile  to  wear  his  father's  name, 
I  lost  him  for  ever  and  ever  1  My  son,  my  star-eyed 
darling." 

"  Listen  to  me.    You  loved  him  so  tenderly  that  no 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  435 

matter  how  wilful  or  disobedient  he  might  have  been, 
you  forgave  him  every  offence  ;  and  when  he  sobbed 
on  your  bosom,  you  felt  he  was  doubly  dear,  and 
hugged  him  closer  to  your  heart  ?  Even  stronger  and 
deeper  is  God's  love  for  us.  Dare  you  call  yourself 
more  pitiful,  more  tender  than  your  Father  in  heaven, 
who  gave  you  the  capacity  to  love  your  child,  because 
He  so  compassionately  loves  His  children  ?  We  sin,  we 
go  far  astray,  we  think  mercy  is  exhausted,  and  the 
door  shut  against  us  ;  but  when  we  truly  repent  and 
go  back,  and  kneel,  and  pray  to  be  forgiven,  Christ 
Himself  unbars  the  door  and  leads  us  in  ;  and  our 
Father,  loving  those  whom  He  created,  pardons  all ; 
and  only  requires  that  we  sin  no  more.  God  does  not 
follow  us ;  we  must  humbly  go  back  all  the  distance  we 
have  put  between  us  by  our  wickedness  ;  but  the 
heavens  will  fall  before  He  fails  to  keep  His  promise  to 
forgive,  when  we  do  genuinely  repent  of  our  wrong 
doing." 

"  It  is  easy  for  the  good  to  believe  that.  You  are 
innocent  of  any  crime,  and  you  are  punished  for  other 
people's  sins,  not  for  your  own  ;  so  you  can't  under 
stand  how  I  dread  the  thought  of  God,  because  I  know 
the  blackness  of  my  heart,  when,  to  get  my  revenge, 
I  sold  my  soul  to  Satan.  Oh  !  the  horror  of  feeling 
that  I  can't  undo  the  bargain ;  that  pay-day  has 
come  !  I  had  the  vengeance,  I  snatched  out  of  God's 
hands,  and  for  a  while  I  gloated  over  it ;  but  now  the 
awful  price !  My  little  one  in  heaven  with  the 
angels ;  knowing  that  his  mother  is  a  devil — eternal- 

ly." 

Her  head  had  fallen  upon  her  knees,  and  in  the 
frenzy  of  despair  she  rocked  to  and  fro. 

"  Don't  you  remember  that  the  most  sinful  woman 
Christ  met  on  earth,  was  the  one  of  all  others  that  He 


436  AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

first  revealed  Himself  to,  when  He  came  out  of  the 
grave  ?  Because  she  was  so  nearly  lost,  and  He  had 
forgiven  so  much,  in  order  to  save  her,  her  purified 
heart  was  doubly  dear,  and  he  honored  her  more  than 
the  disciples,  who  had  escaped  the  depth  of  her  wick 
edness.  Try  to  find  comfort  in  the  belief,  that  if  sin 
cere  remorse  and  contrition  redeemed  the  soul  of  Mary 
Magdalen,  the  same  Savior  who  pitied  and  pardoned 
her  will  not  deny  your  prayer." 

"  God  believed  her,  because  she  proved  her  repent 
ance  by  leading  a  new,  purer  life.  But  I  have  no 
chance  left  to  prove  mine.  If  she  had  been  cut  off  in 
the  midst  of  her  sins,  as  I  am,  she  would  have  been 
obliged  to  pay  in  her  ruined  soul  to  the  Satan  she  had 
served  so  long.  When  I  am  called  to  the  settlement, 
it  seems  an  insult  and  a  mockery  to  ask  God,  whom  I 
have  defied,  to  save  me.  If  I  could  only  have  a  little 
time  to  show  my  penitence." 

"  Perhaps  you  may  be  spared  ;  but  if  not,  God  sees 
your  contrition  just  as  fully  now  as  if  you  lived  fifty 
years  to  show  it  in  good  works.  He  sees  you  are  sin 
cerely  remorseful,  and  would  be  a  true  Christian,  if 
He  allowed  you  an  opportunity.  That  is  the  blessed 
ness  of  our  religion,  that  when  Christ  gives  us  a  now 
heart,  purified  by  repentance  and  faith  in  Him,  He 
says  it  makes  clean  hands,  in  His  sight,  no  matter  how 
black  they  might  have  been.  One  of  the  thieves  was 
already  on  the  cross,  in  the  agonies  of  death,  with  his 
sins  fresh  on  his  soul,  and  no  possible  chance  of  aton 
ing  for  his  past,  by  future  dedication  of  his  life  to 
good  ;  but  Christ  saw  his  heart  was  genuinely  repent 
ant,  and  though  the  man  did  not  escape  crucifixion  by 
humanity,  his  pardoned  soul  met  Jesus  that  same  day 
in  Paradise.  It  is  not  acceptance  of  our  good  deeds, 
though  they  are  required,  it.  is  forgiveness  of  our  sins, 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  437 

that  makes  Christ  so  precious.  Pray  from  the  very 
bottom  of  your  heart,  to  God,  and  try  to  take  hold  of  t !;  ' 
promise  to  the  truly  penitent ;  and  trust — trust  Him." 

For  a  moment  the  crouching1  figure  was  still,  as  ;: 
the  sufferer  mentally  grasped  at  some  shred  of  hope, 
then  she  fell  back  on  her  pillow,  and  groaned. 

"  Do  you  know  all  I  have  done  ?  Do  you  think  there 
is  any  mercy  for — " 

"  Hush,  every  word  taxes  your  failing  strength. 
Compose  yourself." 

"  I  can't !  As  long  as  I  have  breath  let  me  tell  you. 
If  1  shut  my  eyes,  horrible  things  seem  to  be  pouncing 
upon  me ;  dreadful  shapes  laugh,  and  beckon  to  me, 
and  I  see — oh  !  pity  me  !  I  see  my  murdered  child, 
with  the  blood  spouting,  foaming,  the  velvety  brown 
eyes  I  loved  to  kiss,  staring  and  glazed  as  I  dragged 
tds  little  body  to — " 

With  a  gurgling  scream  she  paused,  shivered, 
panted. 

"  It  is  a  feverish  dream.  Your  child  is  safe  in  heaven ; 
ask  your  Father  to  let  you  see  his  face  among  the 
angels." 

"  It's  not  fever ;  it's  the  past,  my  own  crimes  that 
come  to  follow  me  to  judgment  and  accuse  me.  The 
hand  of  my  first-born  pointing  over  the  last  bar  at  the 
mother  who  killed  him  !  Do  you  wonder  I  am  afraid 
to  die  ?  I  don't  deny  my  bloody  deeds — but  after  all 
it  was  a  foul  wrong  that  drove  me  to  desperation ;  and 
God  knows,  man's  injustice  brought  me  to  my  sin.  I 
was  a  spoiled,  motherless  child,  married  at  sixteen  to  a 
man  whose  family  despised  me,  because  my  pretty  face 
had  ruined  their  scheme  of  a  match  with  an  heiress, 
whose  money  was  needed  to  retrieve  their  fortunes. 
They  never  forgave  the  marriage,  and  after  a  few 
years,  mischief  began  to  brew. 


438  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"  I  loved  my  husband,  but  his  nature  was  too  aus 
tere  to  deal  patiently  with  my  freakish,  petulant,  vol 
canic  temper;  and  when  he  lectured  me  for  my  frivolity, 
obstinacy  plunged  me  into  excesses  of  gayety,  that  at 
heart  I  did  not  enjoy.  His  mother  and  sister  shunned 
me  more  and  more,  poisoned  his  mind  with  wicked  and 
unfounded  suspicions,  and  so  we  grew  mutually  dis 
trustful.  He  tired  of  me,  and  he  showed  it.  I  loved 
him.  Oh !  I  loved  him  better,  and  better,  as  I  saw 
him  drifting  away.  He  neglected  me,  spent  his  leisure 
where  he  met  the  woman  he  had  once  intended  to 
marry.  I  was  so  maddened  with  jealous  heart-ache, 
some  evil  spirit  prompted  me  to  try  and  punish  him 
with  the  same  pangs.  That  was  my  first  sin  of  decep 
tion  ;  I  pretended  an  attachment  I  never  felt,  hoping 
to  rekindle  my  husband's  affection.  Like  many  another 
heart-sick  wife,  I  was  caught  in  my  own  snare ;  and 
while  I  was  as  innocent  of  any  wrong  as  my  own  baby 
boy,  his  father  was  glad  of  a  pretext  to  excuse  his  alien 
ation.  People  slandered  me;  and  because  I  loved 
Allen  so  deeply,  I  was  too  proud  to  defend  myself,  un 
til  too  late. 

"  God  is  my  witness,  my  husband  was  the  only  man 
I  ever  loved  ;  ah  !  how  dear  he  was  to  me  !  His  very 
garments  were  precious ;  and  I  have  kissed  and  cried 
over  his  gloves,  his  slippers.  The  touch  of  his  hand 
was  worth  all  the  world  to  me,  but  he  withheld  it. 
When  you  know  your  husband  loves  you,  he  may  ill 
treat,  may  trample  you  under  his  feet,  but  you  can 
forgive  him  all ;  you  caress  the  heel  that  bruises  you. 
Allen  ceased  to  show  me  ordinary  consideration,  stung 
me  with  sneers,  threatened  separation  ;  even  shrunk 
from  the  boy,  because  he  was  mine. 

"  There  came  a  day,  when  some  fiend  forged  a 
letter,  and  the  sam  e  vile  hand  laid  it  in  my  husband's 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  439 

desk.  Only  God  knows  whose  is  the  guilt  of  that 
black  deed,  but  I  believe  it  was  his  sister's  work. 
Allen  cursed  me  as  unworthy  to  be  the  mother  of  his 
child,  and  swore  he  would  be  free.  On  my  knees  I 
begged  him  to  hear,  and  acquit  me.  I  confessed  all 
my  yearning  love  for  him,  I  assured  him  I  was  the 
victim  of  a  foul  plot ;  and  that  if  he  would  only  take 
me  back  to  the  heaven  of  his  heart,  he  would  find  that 
no  man  ever  had  a  more  devoted  wife.  He  wanted  an 
excuse  to  put  me  out  of  his  way ;  he  repulsed  me  with 
scorn,  and  before  the  sun  set,  he  forsook  me,  and  took 
up  his  abode  with  his  mother  and  sister.  Oh !  the 
cruel  wrong  of  that  dreadful,  parting  scene  !" 

She  sprang  from  the  cot,  breathless  from  the  pas 
sionate  recital,  beating  the  air  with  one  small  slender 
hand,  while  the  other  tore  at  the  swollen  cords  of  her 
tortured  throat. 

Beryl  caught  the  round,  prettily  turned  wrist,  and 
felt  the  feeble  thread  of  pulse  that  was  only  a  wild 
flutter,  under  the  olive  satin  of  the  hot  skin. 

"  This  excitement  only  hastens  the  end  you  dread. 
Lie  down,  and  I  will  pray  for  you." 

"  I  shall  soon  lie  down  for  ever.  Let  me  walk  a 
little,  before  my  feet  slide  into  the  grave." 

She  staggered  twice  across  the  length  of  the  cell, 
then  tottered  and  fell  back  on  the  cot.  At  every  res 
piration  the  thin  nostrils  flared,  and  the  glazed  ring 
below  the  eyes  lost  its  sullen  red  tinge,  took  on  blue 
shadows. 

"  I  did  not  know  then  I  was  to  lose  my  child  also  ; 
but  before  long,  all  the  scheme  was  made  clear.  Allen 
sued  for  a  divorce. .  He  wanted  to  shake  me  off  ;  arid 
he  persuaded  himself  all  the  foul  things  my  enemies 
had  concocted  must  be  true.  I  had  lost  his  love ;  1 
was  too  proud  to  show  my  torn  heart  to  the  world  ; 


440  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

and  men  make  the  laws  to  suit  themselves,  and  they 
help  each  other  to  break  chains  that  gall,  so  Allen 
was  set  free.  I  shut  myself  up  in  two  rooms,  with  my 
boy,  and  saw  no  one.  Even  then,  though  my  heart 
was  breaking,  and  I  wept  away  the  lonely  days — long 
ing  for  the  sight  of  my  husband's  face,  starving  for 
the  sound  of  his  voice — I  bore  up  ;  because  I  knew  I 
was  innocent,  and  unjustly  censured,  and  I  had  my  child 
to  comfort  me.  He  slept  in  my  arms  and  kept  me 
human  ;  and  we  were  all  the  world  to  each  other. 

"  Then  the  last  blow  fell.  There  came  a  note,  whose 
every  word  bit  my  heart  like  an  adder.  Allen  de 
manded  the  boy,  whom  the  law  gave  to  his  guardian 
ship  ;  and  I  was  \\arned  I  must  make  no  attempt  to 
see  him  after  he  was  taken  away,  because  he  would 
be  taught  to  forget  me.  I  refused.  I  dared  the 
officer  to  lay  hands  on  my  little  one,  and  I  was  so  fran 
tic  with  grief,  the  man  had  compassion,  and  left  me. 
Two  nights  afterward,  I  rocked  him  to  sleep  and  put 
him  in  bed.  His  arms  fell  from  my  neck ;  half 
aroused,  he  nestled  his  face  to  mine — kissed  me.  I 
went  into  the  next  room  to  finish  a  shirt  I  was  making 
for  him,  and  I  shut  the  door,  fearing  the  noise  of  the 
machine  would  wake  him.  I  sewed  half  an  hour,  and 
—when  I  went  back,  the  bed  was  empty,  my  child  was 
gone. 

"  I  think  I  went  utterly  mad  then.  I  can  remember 
putting  my  lips  to  the  dent  on  the  little  ruffled  pillow, 
where  his  head  had  lain,  and  swearing  that  I  would 
have  my  revenge. 

"  That  night  turned  me  to  stone ;  every  tender  feel 
ing  seemed  to  petrify.  When  I  learned  that  Allen  was 
soon  to  marry  the  woman  for  whom  he  had  cast  me 
oiT,  and  that  my  boy  was  to  have  a  new  mother  to 
teach  him  to  hate  me,  it  did  not  grieve  me ;  I  had 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  441 

lost  all  power  of  suffering ;  but  it  woke  up  a  legion  of 
fiends  where  my  heart  used  to  beat,  and  I  bided  my 
time.  Happy  women  in  happy  homes  think  me  a 
monster.  With  their  husbands'  arms  around  them, 
and  their  babies  prattling  at  their  knees,  they  bear  my 
wrongs  so  meekly,  and  shudder  at  my  depravity. 
When  I  thought  of  Allen,  who  was  my  first  and  last 
and  only  love,  giving  my  place  to  some  other  woman, 
who  was  no  more  worthy  than  I  knew  rr^self  to  be  ; 
and  of  the  baby,  who  had  slept  on  my  heart,  and  was 
so  dear  because  he  had  his  father's  eyes  and  his  fath 
er's  brown  curls,  growing  up  to  deny  and  condemn  his 
innocent  but  disgraced  mother,  it  was  more  than  I 
could  bear.  I  was  not  insane ;  oh,  no !  But  I  was 
possessed  by  more  than  seven  devils;  and  revenge 
was  all  this  world  could  give  me.  My  husband's  fam 
ily  had  ruined  me  ;  so  I  would  spoil  their  match  a 
second  time. 

"  The  wedding  was  to  be  very  private,  but  I  bribed 
a  servant  and  got  into  the  house,  and  stood  behind 
the  damask  curtains.  Allen's  mother  and  sister  came 
in,  leading  my  boy ;  and  they  were  so  close  to  me  I 
could  see  the  long  silky  lashes  resting  against  my 
baby's  brow,  as  his  great  brown  eyes  looked  wonder- 
ingly  at  a  horseshoe  of  roses  dangling  from  the  chan 
delier.  Then  my  husband,  my  handsome  husband— 
my  darling's  father,  walked  in,  with  the  bride  on  his 
arm,  and  the  minister  met  them,  saying  :  '  Dearly  be 
loved — .'  I  ceased  to  be  a  woman  then,  I  was  a  fury, 
a  wild  beast — and  two  minutes  later  my  darlings  were 
mine  once  more,  safe  from  that  other  woman — dead  at 
my  feet.  Then  the  ball  I  aimed  at  my  own  breast 
missed  its  destination.  I  fell  on  my  slaughtered  idols; 
seeing  in  a  bloody  mist  the  wide  eyes  of  my  baby  boy, 
and  the  mangled  face  of  the  husband  whose  kiss  was 


44:2  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

the  only  heaven  I  shall  ever  know.  I  meant  to  die 
with  them,  but  I  failed  ;  so  they  sent  me  here.  That 
was  years  ago ;  but  I  was  a  stone  until  that  day  in 
the  chapel,  when  you  sang  my  Max's  song,  '  By-and- 
By  V 

There  was  a  brief  silence,  and  Beryl's  voice  wavered 
as  she  said  very  gently : 

"  Your  trials  were  fiery ;  and  though  the  crime  was 
frightfully  black,  God  judges  us  according  to  the  na 
tures  we  are  born  with,  and  the  temptations  that  be 
tray  us ;  and  He  forgives  all,  if  we  are  true  penitents 
and  throw  ourselves  trustingly  on  His  mercy.  Now 
take  this  powder ;  it  will  make  you  sleep." 

"  Will  you  stay  with  me  ?  I  shall  not  trouble  any 
body  much  longer.  Say  a  prayer  for  my  sinful  soul, 
that  is  going  down  into  the  eternal  night." 

"Let  us  pray  together,  that  your  pardoned  soul 
may  find  blessed  and  eternal  peace." 

Coming  softly  to  the  door,  the  doctor  looked  in 
through  the  iron  lattice,  saw  the  figure  of  the  nurse 
kneeling  on  the  sanded  floor,  with  her  bronzed  head 
close  to  the  pillow  where  the  moaning  victim's  lay ; 
and  involuntarily  he  took  off  his  cloth  cap,  and  bowed 
his  gray  head  to  listen  to  the  brief  but  solemn  petition 
that  went  up  from  the  dungeon  to  the  supreme  and 
unerring  Judge. 

When  he  returned  to  the  same  spot  an  hour  later, 
Beryl  sat  on  the  side  of  the  cot,  with  one  hand  clasp 
ing  the  brown  wrist  thrown  across  her  lap,  the  other 
pressed  gently  over  the  sufferer's  hot,  aching  eyes ; 
and  wonderfully  sweet  was  the  rich  voice  that  chanted 
low: 

"Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea, 
But  that  Thv  bloori  was  shed  for  me, 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  448 

And  that  Thou  bidd'st  me  come  to  Thee, 

O  Lamb  of  God  !  I  come,  I  come  ! 

Just  as  I  am,  and  waiting  not 

To  rid  my  soul  of  one  dark  blot, 

To  Thee,  whose  blood  can  cleanse  each  spot, 

O  Lamb  of  God  I  1  come,  I  come  1" 

The  noon  sun  was  shining"  over  a  wet  world,  kind 
ling-  into  diamonds  the  crystal  fringe  of  rain  drops 
hang-ing  from  the  green  lances  of  willows,  where  a 
tufted  red  bird  arched  his  scarlet  throat  in  madrigal— 
when  four  men  lifted  a  cot,  and  bore  it  with  its  appar 
ently  dying  burden  to  a  spot  upon  which  the  warm 
light  fell  in  a  golden  flood. 

Between  the  Destroying  Angel  and  his  gasping  prey, 
stepped  two,  anointed  with  the  chrism  of  the  Priest 
hood  of  Cure  ;  and  undismayed  by  the  strident,  sibilant, 
fitful  breath  that  distorted  the  blue  lips  of  the  victim, 
they  parried  the  sweep  of  the  scythe  of  death,  with  the 
tiny,  glittering  steel  blade  surgery  cunningly  fashions ; 
and  through  its  silver  canula,  tracheotomy  recalled 
the  vanishing  spirit,  triumphantly  renewed  the  lease 
of  life. 

At  sunset  on  the  same  day,  Beryl  followed  the 
warden  to  the  door  of  the  large  hospital. 

"  Of  all  pitiful  sights  here,  this  has  harrowed  me  the 
most.  The  doctors  did  all  they  could,  and  the  chap 
lain  worked  hard  to  save  her  soul,  but  she  was  like 
flint,  till  just  before  the  end,  when  she  raised  up,  and 
heard  her  child  crying  down  in  the  work-room,  where  it 
had  been  put  to  sleep.  We  could  scarcely  hold  her ;  she 
fought  like  a  panther  to  get  out  of  bed,  till  the  blood 
gushed  from  her  nose,  and  though  she  could  not  speak 
plainly,  she  pointed,  and  we  made  out: '  Baby — Dovie '. 
The  doctor  would  not  consent  that  we  should  expose 


444  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

the  child  to  the  risk,  but  I  could  not  hold  out  against 
that  poor  creature's  pleading"  wild  eyes,  so  I  just 
brought  the  little  one.  What  a  strangling  cry  she 
gave,  when  I  put  it  in  her  arms,  and  how  the  tears 
poured!  She  was  almost  gone,  and  we  saw  that  she 
wanted  to  tell  us  something  about  the  child,  but  we  could 
not  understand.  The  doctor  put  a  pencil  in  her  hand,  and 
held  a  sheet  of  paper  before  her,  and  she  tried  to  scrawl 
her  wishes,  but  all  we  can  read  is :  '  Her  father  won't 
ever  own  her.  Baptize — her  Dovie — Eve  Werneth's 
baby.  Don't  ever  tell  her  she  was  born  in  jail.  *•  Raise 
her  a  good — good—.'  She  had  a  sort  of  spasm  then, 
and  squeezed  the  child  so  tight,  it  screamed.  In  five 
minutes,  she  was  dead.  Only  nineteen  years  old,  and 
the  little  one  just  two  years  ;  and  not  yet  weaned !  I 
don't  know  what  to  do  ;  so  I  brought  you.  If  I  touch 
the  child,  it  seems  frightened  almost  to  death,  but  may 
be  you  can  coax  it  away.  Poor  little  thing  !  What  a 
mercy  if  it  could  die  I" 

"  Will  you  let  me  have  the  care  of  it  ?  Take  it,  and 
keep  it  up  in  my  cell  ?" 

"I  shall  be  only  too  thankful,  if  you  will  lift  the  load 
from  my  shoulders." 

"  Tell  the  steward  to  bring  me  a  cup  of  warm,  sweet 
ened  milk  and  a  cracker.  The  poor  little  lamb  must 
be  almost  famished." 

Through  an  open  window  streamed  the  radiance  of  a 
daffodil  sky,  flecked  with  curling  plumes  of  drifting 
fire,  and  the  glory  fell  like  a  benediction  on  the  iron 
cot,  where  lay  the  body  of  the  early  dead ;  a  small, 
slight,  blond  girl  wearing  prematurely  the  crown  of 
maternity,  whose  thorns  had  torn  and  stained  the 
smooth  brow  of  mere  childhood.  The  half-opened  eyes, 
fixed  in  their  filmy  blue  glaze,  seemed  a  prayer  for  the 
pretty  infant,  whose  head,  a  glistening  tangle  of  yellow 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  445 

curls,  was  nestled  down  against  the  bare  white  throat 
of  the  rigid  mother ;  while  the  dimpled  hands  pulled 
fretfully  at  the  blood-spattered  gown,  that  was  but 
toned  across  the  breast. 

As  clusters  of  wild  snowy  violets  springing  up  in  the 
midst  of  mud  and  mire,  in  a  noxious  swamp,  look 
doubly  pure  and  sweet  because  of  fetid  surroundings,— 
so  this  blossom  of  the  slums,  this  human  bud,  with 
petals  of  innocence  folded  close  in  the  calyx  of  baby 
hood,  seemed  supremely  and  pathetically  fair,  as  she 
stood  loaning  against  the  cot,  the  little  rosy  feet  on 
tip-toe,  pressing  toward  her  mother;  tears  on  the 
pink  velvet  of  the  round  cheeks,  on  the  golden  lashes 
beneath  the -big  blue  eyes  that  grew  purplish  behind 
the  mist. 

The  Macedonia  of  suffering  humanity  lies  always 
within  a  stone's  throw;  and  the  "cry  for  help"  had 
found  speedy  response  in  more  than  one  benevolent 
heart. 

A  gray-haired  widow  from  the  "  Sheltering  Arms," 
to  which  Sister  Serena  belonged,  and  a  Sister  of  Charity 

from  the  hospital  in  X ,  were  already  ministering 

tenderly  in  the  crowded  ward  ;  and  both  had  essayed 
to  coax  away  the  little  figure  clutching  her  mother's 
gown ;  but  the  flaring  white  cap  of  one,  and  the  flap 
ping  black  drapery  of  the  other,  frightened  the  tremb 
ling  child. 

Into  the  group  stole  Beryl ;  followed  closely  by  the 
yellow  cat,  which  had  become  her  shadow.  Kneeling 
beside  the  baby,  she  kissed  it  softly,  took  one  of  the 
hands,  patted  her  own  cheek  with  it,  and  lifted  the  cat 
•o  the  mattress,  where  it  began  to  purr.  The  silky 
hock  of  yellow  curls  was  lifted,  the  wide  eyes  stared 
u  onderingly  first  at  Beryl's  face  bending  near,  then  at 
the  cat;  and  by  degrees,  the  lovely  waif  suffered  an 


446  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

arm  to  draw  her  farther  and  farther,  while  her  rose-red 
mouth  parted  in  a  smile,  that  showed  six  little  teeth, 
and  with  one  hand  fastened  in  the  cat's  fur,  she  was 
finally  lifted  and  borne  away ;  Beryl's  soft  check 
nestled  against  hers,  the  bronzed  head  bent  down  to 
the  yellow  ringlets ;  one  arm  holding  the  baby  and  the 
cat,  while  the  other  white  hand  clpsed  warmly  over  the 
child's  bare,  cold,  dimpled  feet. 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

T7  AIR  and  flowery  as  in  the  idyllic  dawn  when 
Theocritus  sang  its  pastoral  charms,  was  that 
sunny  Sicilian  land  where,  one  May  morning,  Leo 
Gordon  wandered  with  a  gay  party  in  quest  of  historic 
sites,  which  the  slow  silting  of  the  stream  of  time 
had  not  obliterated.  Viewed  from  the  heights  of 
Achradina,  whence  all  the  vestiges  of  magnificence 
and  luxury  have  vanished,  and  only  the  hideous  monu 
ment  of  "man's  inhumanity  to  man  "  remains,  what 
a  vast  panorama  stretched  far  as  the  horizon  on  every 
side. 

To  the  north,  girding  the  fire-furrowed  plain  of  Ca 
tania  where  olive,  lemon,  oleander  and  orange  spring 
ing  out  of  black  lava,  mingled  hues  like  paints  on  an 
ebony  palette — rose  vast,  lonely,  purple  at  base,  snowy 
at  summit,  brooding  Etna ;  dozing  in  the  soft,  sweet 
springtime,  with  red,  wrathful  eyes  veiled  by  a  silvery 
haze.  An  unlimited  expanse  of  crinkling  blue  sea, 
shot  like  Persian  silk  with  gleams  of  gold,  and  laced 
here  and  there  with  foam  scallops,  bounded  the  east ; 
smiling  treacherously  above  the  ghastly  wreck  sepul- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  447 

tured  in  its  coral  crypts,  that  might  have  told  of  the 
crash  of  triremes,  the  flames  of  sinking  galleys,  which 
twenty-two  centuries  ago  lit  the  bloody  waves  that 
closed  over  slaughtered  hosts. 

Westward  lay  green,  wimpling  vales,  studded  with 
laurel,  arched  with  vine-draped  pergolas,  dotted  with 
flocks,  dimpled  with  reedy  marshes  where  red  oxen 
browsed;  and  beyond  the  pale  pink  flush  of  almond 

groves — 

"  A  smoke  of  blue  olives,  a  vision  of  towers." 

Bucolic  paradise  of  Battus  and  Bombyce,  of  Corydon 
and  Daphnis,  may  it  please  the  hierophants  of  Sanskrit 
lore,  of  derivative  Aryan  philology,  of  iconoclastic 
euhemerism,  to  spare  us  yet  awhile  the  lovely  myths 
that  dance  across  the  asphodel  meads  of  sunny  Sicily. 

On  the  verge  of  the  parapet  of  the  Latomia,  where 
the  breath  of  the  sirocco,  the  gnawing  tooth  of  time,  and 
the  slow  ravelling  of  rain  had  serrated  the  ledge,  stood 
Leo,  gazing  into  the  dizzying  depths  of  the  charnel 
house  that  swarmed  with  the  ghosts  of  nine  thousand 
men,  who  once  were  huddled  within  its  stony  embrace. 

As  if  pitying  nature  had  striven  to  appease  the 
manes  of  the  unburied  dead,  a  pall  of  luxuriant  ivy 
and  glossy  acanthus  covered  the  bottom  and  sides  of 
the  quarry,  one  hundred  feet  below ;  but  out  of  the 
dust  of  centuries  stared  the  rayless  eyes  of  corpses,  and 
the  gaunt  despairing  faces  seemed  still  uplifted,  now  in 
invocation,  anon  in  imprecation  to  the  overarching  sky, 
where  blistering  suns  mocked  them  by  day,  and  glit 
tering  moons  and  silver  stars  paused  in  their  westward 
march  through  dewy  nights,  to  tell  them  tantalizing 
tales  of  how  musically  JEgean  wavelets  broke  against 
the  marbles  at  Piraeus ;  how  loud  the  nightingales 
sang  in  the  plane  and  poplar  groves  at  home;  how  the 
white  glorv  of  the  Parlhonon  smiled  down  on  violet- 


448  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

crowned  Athens,  where  their  wives  and  children 
thronged  the  temples,  in  sacrificial  rites  to  insure  their 
safety. 

In  crevices  of  the  perpendicular  walls  lush  creepers 
tapestried  the  gray  stone,  and  far  down,  out  of  the 
mould  of  the  subterranean  dungeon,  sprang  slim 
lemon  trees  snowed  over  with  fragrant  bloom,  clumps 
of  oleander  waving  banners  of  vivid  rose,  and  golden- 
green  pomegranate  bushes,  where  scarlet  flakes  glowed 
like  the  wings  of  tropical  birds. 

"  Well,  is  the  game  worth  the  candle  ?  After  voyag 
ing  thousands  of  miles,  do  you  feel  repaid ;  or  down 
there,  in  the  heart  of  the  desolation,  do  you  see  only 
the  grinning  mask  of  jeering  disappointment,  which 
generally  follows  American  realists  into  the  dusty 
haunts  of  Old  World  idealism  ?" 

As  she  spoke,  Alma  Cutting  stepped  back  under  the 
cool  canopy  of  a  spreading  fig-tree,  and  fanned  her 
self  with  a  tuft  of  papyrus  leaves.  She  was  a  tall,  hand 
some  woman,  pronouncedly  brunette  in  type,  with 
large  black  eyes  whose  customary  indolent  indifference 
of  expression  did  not  entirely  veil  the  fires  "  banked" 
under  the  velvet  iris  ;  and  a  square,  firm  mouth, 
around  whose  full  crimson  lips  lurked  a  certain 
haughtiness,  that  despite  the  curb  of  good  breeding, 
bordered  at  times  closely  upon  insolence.  Thirty  years 
had  tripped  over  this  dark  head,  where  the  hair,  inno 
cent  of  crimp  or  curl,  hung  in  a  straight  jet  fringe  low 
on  her  wide  forehead  ;  and  though  no  lines  marred  the 
smooth,  health-tinted  skin,  she  was  perceptibly  "  sun 
burnt  by  the  glare  of  life,"  and  the  dew  of  youth  had 
vanished  before  the  vampire  lips  of  ennui. 

"  Disappointed  ?  Certainly  not ;  and  I  were  exact 
ing  and  unreasonable  indeed,  if  I  did  not  feel  abundant 
ly  repaid.  Alma,  since  the  days  when  I  pored  over 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TTBERIUS.  449 

Thucydides,  Plutarch,  Rollin  and  Grote,  this  spot  has 
beckoned  to  my  imagination  with  all  the  uplifted  hands 
of  the  nine  thousand  captives ;  and  the  longing  of 
years  is  to-day  completely  gratified." 

"  Am  I  unusually  stupid,  or  are  you  rapt,  beyond  the 
realm  of  reason  and  mid-day  common  sense?  Pray 
what  is  the  fascination  ?  It  is  neither  so  vast,  nor  so 
picturesque  as  the  Colosseum.  There,  one  expects  to 
hear  the  roar  of  the  beasts  springing  on  their  human 
prey ;  the  ring  of  steel  on  steel,  when  the  gladiators 
have  bowed  like  dancing-masters  to  the  bloated  old 
bald-headed  Neros  and  Vespasians ;  and  you  fancy 
that  you  smell  the  fountains  of  perfume  that  toss 
their  spray  from  tier  to  tier  ;  and  see  the  rainbow  of 
the  silk  awning  flapping  overhead.  Better  than  all, 
you  imagine  you  can  watch  the  ravishing  toilettes 
of  the  Faustinas,  and  Fulvias  and  Messalinas  who 
flirt  with  the  handsome,  straight-nosed  beaux  so 
immensely  classical  in  their  togas;  and  when  their 
thunder-browed  husbands  unexpectedly  step  in  be 
hind,  it  is  so  easy  to  conjecture  the  sudden 
change  of  theme,  as  they  spread  their  fans  to  cover 
the  message  just  written  on  their  ivory  tablets, 
and  straightway  fall  to  clawing  the  characters  of 
all  the  Cornelias,  and  Calpurnias,  and  Octavias  and 
Julia  Domnas,  and  other  respectable  wives  !  All  that 
I  quite  enjoyed  because  I  understood.  Eight  years' 
campaigning  in  New  York,  and  London  and  Paris 
would  teach  even  an  idiot  that  nineteenth  century 
'  best  society'  can  lift  you  so  close  to  the  naughtiness 
cf  the  golden  Roman  era,  that  one  only  has  to  strain 
a  very  little  on  tip-toe,  to  feel  at  one's  ease  with  the 
jeunesse  doree  of  dead  ages.  Here — what  do  you  find 
in  a  huge  stone  well  sunk  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth  ? 
About  as  enticing  as  a  plunge  into  a  dry  cistern,  sud- 


450  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

denly  unroofed?  If  spectres  we  must  hunt,  do  let 
them  be  festive,  like  those  Faust  danced  with  on  the 
Brocken  1" 

"  You  should  be  ashamed,  Alma!  Miss  Gordon  is 
the  very  soul  of  courteous  toleration,  or  she  would  re 
sent  the  teasing  goad  of  your  Philistinism,"  cried  the 
brother,  Kivers  Cutting,  who  in  his  new  style  yachting 
suit  of  blue  cloth  appeared  veritably  the  jaunty  genius 
of  fashionable  modernity,  confronting  the  ghost  of  an 
tiquity. 

"You  forget,  Rivers,  some  of  the  sage  dicta  you 
brought  back  from  the  '  Summer  School  of  Philosophy', 
when  you  followed  your  last  Boston  flame  to  Concord, 
where  she  went  poaching  on  the  sacred  preserves  of  the 
'Illuminati',  hunting  a  new  sensation.  '  We  must  be 
as  courteous  to  human  beings  as  we  are  to  a  picture, 
which  we  are  willing  to  give  the  advantage  of  a  good 
light.'  Now  being  Leo's  very  sincere  friend,  and  know 
ing  that  the  supreme  moment  of  her  facial  triumph  is 
when,  like  a  startled  fawn,  she  opens  her  eyes  wide  in 
horrified  amazement  at  some  inconceivable  heresy,  do 
you  suppose  I  am  so  recreant  to  loyalty  as  to  fail  in 
providing  her  occasionally  with  the  necessary  Gorgon, 
ethical  or  archaeological,  as  surroundings  warrant  ? 

"  History  was  never  the  fetich  of  my  girlhood,  and 
that  quartette  of  dry-as-dust  worthies  whom  Leo 
carries  around  in  leash,  as  other  women  carry  pugs 
and  poodles,  came  near  giving  me  meningitis  in  my 
tender  years.  My  first  governess,  a  Puritan  spinster, 
full  of  zeal,  and  conscientiously  bent  on  earning  her 
wages,  by  exercising  my  brains  to  their  utmost  capacity, 
undertook  to  introduce  me  to  all  the  highly  immoral 
personages  and  practices  that  made  the  Punic  Wars 
famous.  By  way  of  making  Imilco  a  lifteiong  ac 
quaintance,  she  illustrated  the  sie^e  of  Agrigentum 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  451 

by  a  huge,  hideous  image  of  Phalaris'  '  Brazen  Bull  "* ,, 
drawn  with  chalk  on  the  school-room  blackboard. 

' l  A  wonderful  beast  it  certainly  was ;  that  taurus 
with  head  lowered,  tail  lashing-  the  air,  one  hoof  paw 
ing  savagely,  worthy  representative  of  all  the  horrors 
it  typified,  and  which  she  explained  with  maddening 
perspicuity.  That  night,  when  papa  tore  himself  away 
from  the  club  room  at  one  o'clock,  and  met  mamma  on 
the  doorstep — just  coming  home  from  a  supper  at 
Delmonico's  after  an  opera  party — they  were  ascend 
ing  the  stairs,  when  frantic  cries  drove  from  her  ears 
the  echoes  of  '  Traviata's '  witching  strain.  Thinking 
only  a  conflagration  could  justify  the  din,  papa  threw 
up  the  hall  sash  and  shouted  '  fire !'  and  the  police 
sounded  the  alarm,  and  all  pandemonium  broke  loose. 
Investigation  discovered  me,  wriggled  half  way  down 
to  the  foot  of  my  bed,  buried  under  the  blankets,  and 
shrieking  '  Perillus'  Bull !  I  am  roasting  in  the  Brass 
Bull!'  Being  not  very  ardent  disciples  of  Clio,  my 
solicitous  parents  failed  to  understand  the  nightmare ; 
hence  cracked  ice  was  folded  over  my  head  (mid 
winter),  and  the  family  physician  ordered  a  mustard 
plaster  half  a  yard  long,  down  my  spine.  I  vividly 
remember  Imilco,  and  the  bovine  fury  pawing  the 
blackboard;  but  of  the  three  Punic  Wars,  then  and 
there  tabooed,  I  recall  only  the  brass  monster  at 
Agrigentum.  Leo,  when  we  reach  Girgenti,  the  re 
maining  Mecca  of  your  historic  hopes,  some  time 
to-morrow,  you  will  understand  why,  instead  of  climb 
ing  to  the  temples  on  the  cliff,  I  shall  lock  the  door  of 
our  cabin,  and  drown  the  bellowing  of  the  beast  in 
Daudet's  new  book." 

"  I  wish,  indeed  I  do,  that  you  had  staid  there  to-day, 
instead  of  coming  ashore  to  dampen  all  our  ardor  and 
enthusiasm  by  your  constant  thin  drizzle  of  scorn. 


4:52  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

One  should  suppose  that  in  this  idyllic  region,  some 
ray  of  poetic  warmth  must  melt  your  frigid,  scoffing 
soul.  Daudet  suits  my  sister  far  better  than  Theocri 
tus,"  answered  her  brother,  fastening  a  sprig  of 
orange  blossom  in  his  button  hole. 

Pushing  back  her  sailor  hat,  Alma  looked  obliquely 
at  him  from  beneath  her  drooping  lids. 

"  Try  me.  Perhaps  infection  haunts  the  air.  Spare 
us  the  Greek,  come  down  from  your  Yale  and  Harvard 
heights  to  the  level  of  my  ignorance,  and  warble  for 
me  in  English  some  of  your  Sicilian  lark's  melodies. 
At  least  I  have  heard  of  Amaryllis  and  Simaetha." 

Mr.  Cutting  shook  his  head. 

"  What —  ?  Ashamed  of  your  bucolic  hobby  !  No 
wonder — since  after  all  it's  only  a  goat.  I  dare  you, 
brother  mine,  to  produce  me  a  Theocritan  fragment." 

"  Take  the  consequences  of  your  rash  levity ;  though 
i  have  a  dawning  suspicion  some  '  Imp  of  the  Per 
verse'  has  coached  you  for  the  occasion." 

He  stroked  his  mustache,  pondered  a  moment,  then 
struck  an  attitude,  and  declaimed  : 

"I  go  a  serenading  to  Amaryllis;  what  time  my 
flocks  browse  on  the  mountains,  and  Tityrus  drives 
them.  Tityrus  beloved  of  me  in  the  highest  degree, 
feed  my  flocks  and  lead  them  to  the  fountain,  etc." 

Mimicking  his  tone  exactly,  Alma  finished  the  line  : 

"  And  mind,  Tityrus,  that  tawny  Libyan  he-goat  lest 
he  butt  thee!'  Come,  Rivers;  free  translation  is 
allowable,  considering  surroundings,  but  not  garbling ; 
and  every  time  you  know  you  substituted  flocks  for 
goats.  Proceed,  and  do  not  insult  your  pet  author 
with  emendations." 

With  his  hat  on  the  back  of  his  head,  and  his  thumbs 
in  the  armholes  of  his  vest,  Mr.  Cutting  resumed  : 


AT  THE   MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  453 

"Sweet  Amaryllis!  though  by  death  defiled, 
The«  shall  I  ne'er  forget ;   dear  to  my  heart 
As  are  my  frisking  goats,  thou  dids't  depart. 
To  what  a  lot — was  I,  unhappy,  born  !" 

Again  the  mocking-  voice  responded : 

•'But  see!  yon  calves  devour 
The  olive  branches.    Pelt  them  off  I  pray. 

"  Confound    the    calves !      St !  you  white-skin 

thief — away!'  Thanks,  no  more  at  present.  Doubt 
less  it  sounds  very  fine  in  Greek,  because  then,  I 
could  not  possibly  understand  that  it  is  the  melody 
and  the  rhythmic  dance  of  bleating-  calves,  and  caper 
ing  goats.  Here  come  the  stragglers  laden  with 
plunder.  Oh,  papa!  Do  give  me  those  exquisite 
acacia  clusters." 

"  My  dear,  I  have  ordered  luncheon  spread  down 
there,  in  that  strange  garden.  It  is  the  queerest 
place  imaginable ;  and  looking  up,  the  effect  is  quite 
indescribable." 

"  Have  you  had  the  skulls  polished  for  drinking 
cups,  and  printed  the  menus  on  cross-bones  ?  What 
shocking  taste  to  add  insult  to  injury  by  spreading 
all  our  wealth  of  canned  dainties  on  the  very  stones 
where  sit  the  ghosts  of  those  who  perished  from 
hunger  and  thirst !  Eminently  Dantesque,  but  the 
sacrilege  appalls  Leo.  She  would  sooner  attend  an 
oyster  supper,  or  a  clam-bake  in  the  Catacombs,  or — 
bowing  to  a  young  Englishman  standing  near,  "  lead 
a  German  in  the  Poets'  corner  of  Westminster 
Abbey.  My  dear  girl,  under  which  flag  do  you  fight  ? 
Athenian,  Roman,  Carthagenian,  Syracusan? 

"  The  child  of  a  man  who  fell  in  defence  of  his  own 
fireside,  could  scarcely  fail  to  sympathize  with  the  holy 
cause  of  the  invaded;  yet  here,  in  view  of  the  horrors 


454  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

'nflicted  upon  the  captives,  one  almost  leans  to  Athens. 
.rt  seems  to  me  the  most  enduring-  monument  of 
Syracusan  glory  survives  in  the  eloquent  protest  of 
Nicolaus  against  her  cruelty;  especially  when  we  recol 
lect  that  it  came  from  one  who,  of  all  others,  had  most 
to  forgive.  Old,  decrepit,  unable  to  walk,  the  venerable 
sorrow-laden  man  whose  only  children,  two  sons,  had 
died  fighting  to  save  Syracuse— was  carried  on  a  litter 
into  the  midst  of  the  shouting  thousands,  who  were 
drunk  with  the  wine  of  victory.  '  Behold  an  unhappy 
father,  who  has  most  cause  to  detest  the  Athenians, 
the  authors  of  this  war,  the  murderers  of  my  children ! 
But  I  am  less  sensible  of  my  private  afflictions  than  of 
the  honor  of  my  country,  when  I  see  it  ready  to  expose 
itself  to  eternal  infamy  by  violating  the  law  of  nations, 
and  dishonoring  our  victory  by  barbarous  cruelty. 
What !  Will  you  tarnish  your  glory,  and  have  all  the 
world  say  that  a  nation  who  first  dedicated  a  temple 
in  their  city,  to  Clemency,  found  none  hi  yours? 
Triumphs  and  victories  do  not  give  immortal  glory  to 
a  city ;  but  the  use  of  moderation  in  the  greatest 
prosperity,  the  exercise  of  mercy  toward  a  vanquish 
ed  enemy,  the  fear  of  offending  the  gods  by  a  haughty 
and  insolent  pride.'  What  a  theme  for  Dore  or 
Munkacsy  ?" 

"  Thank  you  ever  so  much,  Miss  Gordon,  for  brush 
ing  away  the  library  dust  from  that  historic  cameo.  I 
had  so  utterly  forgotten  it  lay  in  the  musty  tomes, 
that  it  has  all  the  charm  of  a  curio"  Mr.  Cutting 
took  off  his  hat,  and  bowed. 

"  Acknowledgments  are  due  rather  to  my  cousin, 
Dr.  Douglass,  who  called  my  attention  to  the  pass 
age.  The  best  of  all  things  good  abide  with  him ;  and 
out  of  his  overflowing  store,  he  shares  with  the  needy, 
last  night  he  reminded  me  of  an  illustration  of 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  455 

the  vanitas  vanitatum  of  human  fame  and  national 
gratitude,  to  be  found  over  yonder  in  the  necropolis. 
Less  than  a  hundred  and  forty  years  after  his  death, 
Archimedes  was  so  completely  forgotten  by  the  city 
he  had  immortalized,  that  Syracuse  denied  he  \vas 
buried  on  her  soil ;  and  a  foreigner  had  the  honor  of 
clearing  away  rubbish  and  brambles,  in  order  to  show 
the  grave  to  his  own  countrymen." 

Leighton  Douglass  handed  to  his  cousin  a  bunch  of 
the  delicate  lilac  blossoms  of  acanthus,  tied  with  a  wisp 
of  some  ribbon-like  grass,  and  taking  off  his  specta 
cles,  replied : 

"Leo  unduly  exalts  my  memory  at  the  expense  of 
her  own ;  and  we  have  all  levied  heavily  on  her  fund  of 
topographical  accuracy." 

"  If  I  travel  much  longer  with  two  such  learned  and 
philosophical  scholars,  I  shall  inevitably  degenerate 
into  an  intellectual  Dodder,"  yawned  Alma. 

"  Into  a  what  ?"  asked  her  father. 

"  A  Dodder,  sir.  Pray,  papa,  be  more  considerate 
than  to  force  Doctor  Douglass  to  believe  that  instead 
of  listening  to  the  sermon  he  preached  us  last  year, 
you  either  slept  ignominiously  throughout  its  delivery, 
or  else  allowed  your  unregenerate  thoughts  to  dwell 
on  those  devices  of  Lucifer,  'puts,'  'calls,'  t  spreads,' 
•corners,'  '  spots'  and  'futures'.  Of  course  you  remem- 
>iir  that  he  believes  in  evolution?  There  was  a  time,  even 
in  my  extremely  recent  day,  when  that  word  was  more 
frightful  to  the  orthodox  than  a  ton  of  nitre-glycerine; 
was  to  the  elect,  a  fouler  abomination  even  than  opera 
bouffe  and  the  can  can.  But  '  the  thoughts  of  men 
are  widened  with  the  process  of  the  suns',  and  now  it 
appears  that  the  immortal  soul  of  us  must  be  evolved, 
somewhat  in  the  same  fashion  as  protoplasm,  and  un 
less  we  fight  for  'survival '  elsewhere,  we  shall  not  be 


456  AT  THE  MEROY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

numbered  among  the  spiritual  'fittest',  but  degener 
ate  into  parasites,  dodders,  backsliders.  So,  drawing 
nutriment  from  the  Doctor's  historic  brains,  and  from 
Leo's,  I  fall  back  into  worse  than  a  dodder,  a  torpid 
violator  of  the  Law  of  Work,  a  hopeless  Sacculina ! 
Doctor  Douglass,  it  was  the  bravest  hour  of  your  life 

when  you  stood  up  in church  pulpit,  and  told  us 

the  scientists  whom  we  were  wont  to  regard  as  more 
dreadful  than  the  cannibals  and  Calmucks,  are  only  a 
devoted  sect  of  truth  seekers,  preaching  from  older 
texts,  and  drawing  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  kingdom 
of  Heaven.  To  throw  that  ethical  bomb,  required 
more  courage  than  Balaklava." 

"  Mine  was  merely  a  feeble  attempt  to  follow  out  the 
analogical  reasoning  of  one  of  the  most  original  and 
scientific  thinkers  of  our  day  in  Great  Britain  ;  but  the 
fact  that  you  recall  so  correctly  the  line  of  argument 
in  a  sermon  delivered  more  than  a  year  ago,  is  certainly 
complimentary  assurance  of  at  least  approximate  suc 
cess  in  my  effort." 

"  After  all,  I  am  sorry  I  humored  Leo's  whim,  and 
persuaded  papa  to  bring  us  here." 

"  Why,  my  dear?  We  are  enjoying  it  immensely/' 
said  her  father. 

" Because  Syracuse  has  proved  my  'crumpled  rose 
leaf,  by  destroying  the  prestige  of  the  'Cleopatra'. 
Hitherto,  I  deemed  our  yacht  quite  the  most  complete 
and  gorgeous  floating  palace  since  the  days  of  its  highly 
improper  namesake's  marauding  sails  on  the  Cydnus." 

"  And  so  she  is  ;  there  is  nothing  afloat  comparable 
to  her  in  speed,  appointments,  comfort  and  beauty," 
interrupted  Mr.  Cutting. 

"Poor  papa !  How  he  bristles  at  the  bare  suggestion 
of  rivalry.  Be  comforted,  sir,  in  the  knowledge  that 
at  least  we  shall  not  be  run  down  by  a  phantom 


AT   THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  457 

cruiser.  It  is  very  humiliating1  to  American  pride — • 
after  winning  the  international  prizes,  and  boasting  so 
inordinately,  to  find  out  that  we  are  only  about — how 
many  centuries,  Leo? — twenty -five  centuries  behind 
Syracuse  in  building*  pleasure  crafts.  Think  of  a  superb 
cabin  with  staterooms  containing  beds  (not  bunks)  for 
one  hundred  and  twenty  guests, and  the  floors  all  covered 
with  agates  and  other  precious  stones,  that  formed  a 
mosaic  copy  of  the  Iliad  !  If  you  wished  to  emphasize 
a  discussion  on  connubial  devotion,  behold  !  there  on 
your  right,  Andromache  and  Hector ;  if  one's  husband 
objected  to  a  harmless  flirtation,  lo  !  on  the  left,  Aga 
memnon  and  Briseis ;  and  to  point  the  moral  of  pretty 
is,  as  pretty  does' — how  very  convenient  to  indicate 
ivith  the  tip  of  your  satin  slipper,  the  demure  figure 
of  Helen  standing  on  the  walls,  to  watch  the  duel  be 
tween  Menelaus  and  Paris  !  Fancy  the  consolation  a 
person  of  my  indolent  Sacculina  temperament  might 
have  derived  from  the  untimely  fate  of  Cassandra, 
oppressed  with  knowledge  in  advance  of  her  day  and 
generation  !  There  was  the  gymnasium  for  the  beaux; 
and  for  the  belles  bona  fide  gardens,  with  walks  and 
arbors  covered  with  ivy  and  flowering1  vines  whose  roots 
rested  in  great  stone  vessels  filled  with  earth.  Imagine 
the  boudoir  and  bathrooms  paved  with  precious  stones, 
encrusted  with  carved  ivory  and  statues — " 

"  Pooh  !  Alma.  That  rigmarole  is  not  in  the  guide 
books.  Come,  Dixon  is  waving  his  handkerchief  down 
there,  as  a  signal  that  luncheon  is  ready." 

"  I  prefer  to  wait  here.  Alma,  bring  me  some  ane 
mones,  and  a  sprig  of  ivy  from  the  circular  garden, 
when  you  come  back,"  said  Leo. 

Doctor  Douglass  drew  closer,  and  asked : 

"  Will  you  let  me  stay  also,  and  enjoy  with  you  the 


458  AT  THE   MERCY   OF   TIBERIUS. 

wonderful  charm  of  this  opalescent  air,  this  beautiful 
cincturing  sea?" 

"  I  would  rather  be  alone.  Solitude  is  a  luxury  rare 
ly  allowed  on  a  yacht  cruise ;  and  I  want  a  few  quiet 
moments.  By  day,  poor  Aunt  Patty  has  so  much  to 
tell  me;  at  night,  Alma  is  a  chattering  owl." 

There  are  hours  when  the  ghost  of  a  happy  past, 
from  which  we  have  persistently  fled,  constrains  us 
to  give  audience;  and  Leo  surrendered  herself  to 
memories  that  brought  a  very  mournful  shadow  into 
her  brave  brown  eyes.  Thirteen  months  had  passed 

since  her  departure  from  X and  despite  changing 

scenes  and  novel  incidents,  she  could  not  escape  the 
haunting  face  that  met  her  on  mountains,  was 
mirrored  in  every  sea  ;  the  brilliant  mesmeric  face  set 
in  its  frame  of  crisp  black  locks,  with  dark  blue  eyes 
v/hose  intense  lustre  had  the  cold,  hard  gleam  of 
jewels.  Sleeping  or  waking,  always  that  dear,  power 
ful  face  daring  her  to  forget. 

When  Doctor  Douglass  and  Miss  Patty  joined  the 
yacht  party  at  Palermo,  the  former  had  brought  a  let 
ter  and  a  package,  which  sorely  tested  Leo's  strength 
of  will.  Leaning  to-day  against  the  twisted  body  of 
an  old  olive  tree,  she  opened  and  read  once  more,  the 
final  message. 

"When  Leighton  places  this  sheet  in  your  hands, 
the  year  of  release  which  I  could  not  refuse  you,  will 
have  expired.  Once  your  noble  heart  was  wholly 
mine ;  and  the  proudest  moment  of  my  life  was,  and 
will  be,  that  in  which  you  promised  to  be  my  wife. 
All  that,  you  ever  were,  you  shall  always  remain  to 
rne ;  and  if  you  can  confide  your  happiness  to  my 
keeping,  I  will  never  betray  the  sacred  trust.  Life 
has  grown  sombre  to  me,  during  the  past  eighteen 
months  ;  and  the  only  companionship  that  I  can  hope 
to  cheer  it,  you  alone  can  bring  me.  I  havt  not 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  459 

willingly  or  intentionally  forfeited  your  confidence  ; 
but  that  I  have  suffered,  I  shall  not  deny.  If  you 
love  me,  as  in  days  gone  by,  our  future  rests  once 
more  in  your  hands ;  and  you  must  renew  the 
pledges  that  at  your  request  I  surrendered.  In  be 
half  of  our  past,  I  beg  that  you  will  retain  the  ring, 
hallowed  forever  by  the  touch  of  your  hand ;  and  its 
acceptance  will  typify,  if  not  a  renewal  of  our  engage 
ment,  at  least  the  perpetuity  of  a  sacred  friendship. 
Awaiting  your  final  decision,  I  am,  my  dear  Leo, 
"  Yours  as  of  yore, 

"  LENNOX." 

All  that  she  had  ever  been ;  no  more.  The  graceful, 
well-bred  heiress  whom  he  admired,  who  commanded 
his  profoundest  respect,  whom  he  had  known  from  his 
boyhood,  and  who  of  all  others  he  had  desired  should 
preside  over  his  home  and  wear  his  name ;  but  not  the 
woman  who  reigned  in  his  heart;  whose  touch  had 
lighted  the  glowing  tenderness  that  so  transfigured 
his  countenance,  as  she  saw  it  that  day,  bending  over 
a  sick  convict  in  a  penitentiary. 

He  offered  her  formal  allegiance,  and  that  pale 
phantom  of  affection  grounded  in  reverence,  which  is 
to  the  ardent  love  that  a  true  woman  demands  in  ex 
change  for  her  own,  as — 

"  Moonlight  unto  sunlight ;  and  as  water  unto  wine." 

She  knew  that  he  was  no  willing  victim  of  a  fascina 
tion,  which  had  audaciously  deranged  his  carefully 
mapped  campaign  of  life ;  that  he  would  have  set  his 
heel  on  his  own  insurgent  heart,  had  it  been  possible  ; 
and  she  honored  him  for  the  stern  integrity  that  for 
bade  his  affectation  of  a  warmth  of  feeling  which  she 
was  now  conscious  she  had  never  evoked. 

Accepting  the  theory  that  the  young  convict  was 
sustained  and  animated  by  her  devotion  to  a  guilty 


4:60  /AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

lover,  Leo  fully  understood  that  Lennox,  even  were 
he  mad  enough  to  sacrifice  his  pride,  could  indulge  no 
expectation  of  ever  winning  the  love  of  the  prisoner ; 
and  despite  her  efforts  to  regard  their  rupture  as  final, 
she  had  faintly  hoped  that  he  would  cross  the  ocean, 
and  in  person  urge  a  renewal  of  the  betrothal.  The 
test  of  absence  had  proved  as  effectual  as  she  intended 
it  should  be,  and  his  letter  proclaimed  the  humiliating 
fact,  that  while  honor  inspired  him  to  hold  out  his 
wrists  for  conjugal  manacles,  honor  equally  con 
strained  him  to  spare  her  the  wrong  and  insult  of  in 
sincere  professions  of  tenderness. 

Had  she  found  it  possible  to  condemn  him  as  un 
worthy,  it  would  have  diminished  the  pain  of  surren 
dering  the  brightest  hope  of  her  life ;  for  contempt  is 
the  balm  a  lofty  soul  offers  a  bruised  heart,  but  she 
was  just,  even  in  her  anguish ;  and  that  which  barbed 
the  arrow,  was  the  mortifying  consciousness  that  com 
passion  for  her  was  the  strongest  motive  which  dictated 
the  carefully  phrased  letter.  She  was  far  too  proud  to 
parley  with  the  temptation  to  accept  the  shadow  in  lieu 
of  the  substance;  and  twenty-four  hours  after  the 
arrival  of  the  final  appeal,  her  answer  was  speeding 
with  wings  of  steam  across  the  ocean. 

'  •'  DEAR  LENNOX  : 

1 1  My  heart  overflows  with  gratitude  for  all  the  af 
fectionate  interest,  the  kind  solicitude,  the  innumerable 
I  houghtful  attentions  you  have  so  indefatigably  shown 
1  o  Aunt  Patty,  in  the  sad  complication  of  misfortunes 
t-tiat  so  suddenly  overwhelmed  her  ;  and  I  feel  the  in 
adequacy  of  any  attempt  to  express  my  thanks.  Your 
]  otter  can  only  rivet  more  indissolubly  the  links  of  an 
n  ffectionate  friendship  that  must  always  bind  you  and 
me;  but  the  future  can  hold  no  renewal  of  pledges 
which  I  feel  assured  would  conduce  neither  to  your 
happiness,  nor  to  mine.  Let  us  embalm  the  past  and 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  461 

b  ,ry  it  tenderly;  raising  no  mound  to  trip  our  friend- 
ly  feet  in  years  to  come.  The  serenity  of  our  future 
might  be  marred  by  retrospective  gleams  of  the  beau 
tiful  ring  that  once  enclosed  two  lives ;  hence,  I  have 
ordered  the  diamonds  reset  in  the  form  of  a  four-leaved 
clover,  which  will  be  sent  to  dear  Kittie  as  an  auspi 
cious  omen. 

4 'With  undiminished  esteem,  and  unshaken  con 
fidence,  and  with  a  prayer  for  your  happiness,  which 
will  always  be  dear  to  me,  I  remain, 

' '  Your  sincerely  attached  friend, 

"  LEO." 

The  majority  of  men,  and  a  large  class  of  women, 
bury  their  dead,  and  straightway  begin  assiduously  the 
cultivation  of  all  that  promises  oblivion ;  but  Leo's 
nature  was  deeper,  more  intense ;  and  while  she  made 
no  audible  moan,  and  shed  no  tears,  she  accepted  the 
fact  that  earthly  existence  had  lost  its  coveted  crown, 
and  that  her  aching  heart  was  the  dark  grave  of  a  beau 
tiful  hope  that  could  know  no  resurrection.  To-day  she 
asked  herself :  "  What  shall  1  do  with  my  life  ?" 

Upon  the  warm  air,  sweet  with  the  breath  of  lemon 
flowers,  floated  the  peculiar,  jeering,  yet  subdued  and 
musical  laughter,  which  told  that  Alma  had  flown 
straight  at  some  luckless  quarry.  She  held  in  one  hand 
a  cluster  of  crimson  anemones,  and  purple  stars  of 
periwinkle,  and  walking  between  two  English  gentle 
men,  whose  yacht,  the  "  Albatross",  lay  anchored 
close  to  the  "  Cleopatra"  in  the  harbor  below,  slowly 
approached  Leo,  saying : 

"  Don't  stone  your  prophets.  Especially  one  hedged 
about  with  the  triple  sanctity  of  Brasenose  !  *  Con 
sider  that  thy  marbles  are  but  the  earth's  callosities, 
thy  gold  and  silver  its  faeces  ;  thy  silken  robe  but  a 
worm's  bedding;  and  thy  purple  an  unclean  fish.' 
That  is  one  sugar-coated  pill  that  I  administer  to  my 


462  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

humility  now  and  then  to  keep  it  healthy.  Hear  him 
again ; — '  sitting  on  the  marble  bench  of  one  of  the 
exhedrce  on  the  edge  of  the  Appian  Way,  close  to  the 
fragrant  borders  of  a  rose  farm':  *  So  it  is,  with  the 
philosophers ;  all  alike  are  in  search  of  happiness,  what 
kind  of  thing  it  is.  It  is  pleasure,  it  is  virtue ;  what 
not?  All  philosophers,  so  to  speak,  are  but  fighting 
about  the  ass'  shadow.  I  saw  one  who  poured  water 
into  a  mortar,  and  ground  it  with  all  his  might  with  a 
pestle  of  iron,  fancying  he  did  a  thing  useful ;  but  it 
remained  water  only,  none  the  less.'  Stoicism,  hedon 
ism,  the  gospel  of  '  Sweetness  and  Light';  what  is  it, 
may  I  ask,  that  your  aesthetic  priests  furnish,  to  feed 
immortal  British  souls  ?  Knee  breeches,  sun  flowers, 
niello,  cretonne,  Nanking  bowls,  lily  dados  ?  To  us  it 
savors  sorrowfully  of  that  which  one  of  your  prophets 
foreshadowed,  '  Despair,  baying,  as  the  poet  heard 
her,  hi  the  ruins  of  old  Rome'." 

"  Beg  pardon,  Miss  Cutting;  but  you  quite  surprise 
me.  The  tone  of  many  American  papers  and  maga 
zines  led  us  to  suppose,  really,  that  the  rosy  dawn  of 
Culture  was  beginnirg  to  flush  the  night  of  Philistinism 
brooding  over  your  Western  world." 

"Believe  it  not.  Primeval  gloom,  raw  realism  so 
weigh  upon  our  apathetic  souls,  that  we  rub  our  eyes 
and  stare  at  sight  of  your  aesthetic  catechism :  '  Har 
mony,  but  no  system ;  instinct,  but  no  logic ;  eternal 
growth  and  no  maturity ;  everlasting  movement,  and 
nothing  attained  ;  infinite  possibilities  of  everything ; 
the  becoming  all  things,  the  being  nothing.'  We  have 
too  much  Philistine  honesty  to  pretend  that  we  under 
stand  that,  but  like  other  ambitious  parrots  we  can 
commit  to  memory.  One  of  your  seers  tells  us  that : 
'  Renaissance  art  will  make  our  lives  like  what  seems 
one  of  the  loveliest  things  in  nature,  the  iridescent  film 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  463 

on  the  face  of  stagnant  water !'  Now  it  will  require  at 
least  a  decade,  to  train  us  to  appreciate  the  subtile 
symphonies  of  ditch  slime.  An  English  friend  compas 
sionating  my  American  stupidity,  essayed  to  initiate  me 
in  the  cult  of  '  culture',  and  gave  me  a  leaf  to  study, 
from  the  latter-day  gospel.  I  learned  it  after  a  time, 
as  I  did  the  multiplication  table.  *  Culture  steps  in, 
and  points  out  the  grossaess  of  untempered  belief.  It 
tells  us  the  beauty  of  picturesque  untruth;  the  gro- 
tesqueness  of  unmannerly  conviction;  truth  and  error 
have  kissed  each  other  in  a  sweet,  serener  sphere  ;  this 
becomes  that,  and  that  is  something  else.  The  har 
monious,  the  suave,  the  well  bred  waft  the  bright 
particular  being  into  a  peculiar  and  reserved  parterre 
of  paradise,  where  bloom  at  once  the  graces  of  Panthe 
ism,  the  simplicity  of  Deism,  and  the  pathos  of 
Catholicism  ;  where  he  can  sip  elegances  and  spirituali 
ties  from  flowerets  of  every  faith  !'  Fancy  my  crass 
ignorance,  when  I  assure  you  that  I  actually  laughed 
over  that  verbal  syllabub,  thinking  it  intended  as  a 
famous  bit  of  satire." 

"  Then  it  is  pathetically  true  that  reverence  for  the 
Renaissance  has  not  crossed  the  Atlantic  ?"  asked  one 
of  the  "Albatross"  party,  who  with  his  sketch  book 
half  open,  was  surreptitiously  making  an  "  impres 
sionist  "  view  of  Leo's  profile,  as  she  stood  listening  to 
Alma's  persiflage,  and  mechanically  arranging  her 
lilac  acanthus  blossoms. 

"  Devoted  British  colporteurs  have  philanthropically 
scattered  a  few  art  primers  and  tracts,  and  there  is  a 
possibility  that  in  the  near  future,  our  people  ma3r 
search  the  maps  for  Orvieto,  and  the  dictionaries  for 
Campo  Santo,  to  compass  the  mysteries  o-'  i,he  '  Tri 
umph  of  Death',  and  of  *  Symmetria  Prisca '.  Some 
of  us  have  even  heard  of  'Aucassin  et  Nicolette',  and 


464  AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

of  '  Nencia  da  Barberino',  picking-  salad  in  her  garden  ; 
and  I  am  almost  sure  a  Vassar  girl  once  spoke  to  me 
of  Delia  Quercia's  Ilaria;  but  with  all  my  national 
pride,  candor  compels  me  to  admit  that  it  is  a  '  far 
cry '  to  the  day  when  we  can  devoutly  fall  on  our  knees 
before  the  bronze  Devil  of  Giovanni  da  Bologna.  JEs* 
thetic  paupers,  we  sit  on  the  lowest  bench  at  the  foot 
of  the  class,  in  your  Dame's  Art  School,  to  learn  the 
alphabet  of  the  wonderful  Renaissance ;  and  in  our 
chastened  and  reverent  mood,  it  almost  takes  our 
breath  away  when  your  high-priestess  unrolls  the  last 
pronunciamento,  and  tells  us  her  startling  story  of 
'Euphorion'!  Why?  Ah !— don't  you  know?  The 
Puritan  leaven  of  prudery,  and  the  stern,  stolid, 
phlegmatic  decorum  of  Knickerbockerdom  mingle  in 
that  consummate  flower  of  the  nineteenth  century 
Occident,  the  '  American  Girl',  who  pales  and  flushes 
at  sight  of  the  carnival  of  the  undraped — in  English 
art  and  literature.  Here,  Leo,  take  your  anemones  ; 
red,  are  they  not,  as  the  blood  once  chilled  down 
yonder,  in  that  huge  stone  kennel?  Dr.  Douglass 
has  the  ivy  root ;  and  he  and  I  have  concluded,  that 
after  all,  Syracuse  was  not  more  cruel  here  in  the  La- 
tomia,  than  some  States  in  America,  where  convicts 
are  leased  to  mining  companies,  and  kept  quarrying 
coal,  without  even  the  sweet  consolation  of  staring  up 
at  this  magical  blue  sky.  We  leave  hideous  moral 
and  physical  leprosy  at  home,  and  come  here  to  shed 
dilettante  tears  over  classic  tatters  twenty-five  centu 
ries  old  !  O  immortal  and  ubiquitous  Tartufe  !" 

As  Leo  walked  with  her  cousin  toward  the  spot, 
where  the  "  Cleopatra  "  rose  and  fell  on  the  crest  ol 
waves  racing  before  Libeccio,  she  suddenly  laid  her 
hand  on  his  arm. 

"  Leigh  ton,  I  have  decided  to  leave  the  yacht  at 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  465 

Venice,  and  take  Aunt  Patty  to  Udine  for  rest  and 
quiet.     When  summer  is  over,  I  shall  be  ready  to 
make  arrangements    for  the    journey  to  Syria  and 
Egypt,  and  you  must  complete  your  church  mission  to 
England  in  time  to  accompany  us  to  Jerusalem." 
"  Is  this  your  itinerary,  or  Aunt  Patty's  ?" 
"  She  has  set  her  heart  upon  it ;  and  it  will  be  agree 
able  to  me." 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

TS  it  true  that    in  abstract  valuation,  "the  bird  in 
-*•     hand,  is  worth  two  in  the  bush  ?" 

We  stand  beneath  a  loaded  apricot  tree,  and  would 
give  all  the  bushel  within  reach,  for  one  crimson  satin 
globe  pendent  on  the  extreme  tip  of  the  most  inaccessible 
bough;  and  the  largest,  luscious,  richest  colored  orange 
always  glows  defiantly,  high  up,  close  to  the  body  of 
the  tree,  hedged  away  from  our  eager  grasp  by  its  im 
penetrable  chevaux  de  frise  of  bristling  thorns.  The 
wonderful  water  lily  we  covet  is  smiling  on  its  green 
cushion  of  leaves  just  beyond  the  danger  line,  where 
death  lurks ;  the  rhododendron  flame  that  burned 
brightest  amid  surrounding  floral  fires,  and  lured  us, 
springs  from  the  crevice  of  some  beetling  precipice, 
waving  a  challenge  over  fatal  chasms  that  bar  posses 
sion;  and  with  fretful  dissatisfaction  we  repine,  because 
the  colors  of  the  feathered  captives  in  our  gilt  cages 
;iro  so  dull,  so  faded  in  comparison  with  their  brothers, 
flushing  wings  of  scarlet,  and  breasts  of  vivid  blue 
high  in  the  sunlight  of  God's  free  air. 

The  gold  and  silver  dust  that  powder  velvet  butter 
flies,  tarnish  at  a  touch,  stain  the  fingers  that  clutch 


466  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

them  ;  and  the  dewy  bloom  on  purple  and  amber  grape 
clusters,  never  survives  the  handling1  of  the  vintager. 

Leaning  back  in  the  revolving  chair  in  front  of  his 
office  desk,  Mr.  Dunbar  slowly  tore  into  strips  a  num 
ber  of  notes  and  letters,  and  suffered  the  fragments  to 
fall  into  a  waste  basket  somewhat  faded,  yet  much 
too  elegant  to  harmonize  with  its  surroundings. 

When  Leo  quilted  the  lining  of  ruby  silk  and  knotted 
the  ribbons  that  tied  it  to  the  wicker  lace  work,  love 
pelted  her  cheek  with  roses,  and  happy  hope  sang  so 
loud  in  her  ear,  that  she  could  not  have  divined  the 
cruel  fact  that  she  was  preparing  the  dainty  coffin, 
destined  to  receive  the  mutilated  remains  of  a  betrothal, 
that  typified  supreme  earthly  happiness  to  her.  One 
by  one  dropped  the  shreds  of  Leo's  last  message  from 
Palermo,  like  torn  crumpled  petals  of  a  once  beloved 
and  sacred  flower ;  and  the  faint,  delicate  perfume  that 
clung  to  the  fragments,  was  one  which  Mr.  Dunbar 
recognized  as  characteristic  of  the  library  at  the 
"  Lilacs".  The  contents  of  the  farewell  note  had  in  no 
degree  surprised  him  ;  for  though  fully  persuaded  that 
her  heart  was  irrevocably  pledged  to  the  past,  he  was 
equally  sure  that  only  the  ardor  he  scorned  to  feign, 
would  avail  to  melt  the  wall  of  ice  her  outraged  pride 
had  built  between  them.  There  were  times  when  he 
deplored  bitterly  the  loss  of  her  companionship ;  at 
others  he  exulted  in  the  consciousness  of  perfect  free 
dom  to  indulge  an  overmastering  love,  amenable  to  no 
chastisement  by  violated  loyalty.  He  had  scrupulously 
endeavored,  by  careful  employment  of  forms  of  defer 
ence,  to  spare  his  betrothed  as  far  as  possible,  the 
stinging  humiliation  and  anguish  which  every  woman 
suffers,  when  the  man  whom  she  loves  shows  her  that 
she  fills  only  a  subordinate  and  insignificant  place  in 
his  affection;  and  yet,  while  her  noble  nature  com- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  467 

raanded  his  homage,  and  the  brilliancy  of  the  alliance 
seems  to  jeer  at  his  blind  fatuity,  his  heart  throbbed 
and  yearned  with  an  intolerable  longing  for  one  upon 
whom  the  world  had  set  the  seal  of  an  ineradicable 
disgrace. 

Nature  and  education  had  made  him  a  coldly  calcu 
lating  man,  jealous  of  his  honor,  but  immersed  in 
schemes  for  his  own  aggrandizement,  and  superbly  in 
vulnerable  to  the  blandishments  of  sentimentality ; 
hence  his  amazement,  when  the  deep  and  engrossing 
love  of  his  life  burned  away  that  selfishness  which  was 
citadel  of  his  affections.  Because  his  infatuation  had 
cost  him  so  much,  that  was  alluring  alike  to  vanity, 
pride,  and  ambition,  a  fierce  hunger  for  revenge  pos 
sessed  him ;  and  herein  differs  the  nature  of  the  love  of 
men  and  women ;  the  one  can  sacrifice  itself  for  the 
happiness  of  the  beloved ;  the  other  will  crucif}^  its  dar 
ling  to  appease  jealous  pangs  hi  view  of  happiness  it 
can  neither  inspire  nor  share. 

"  Good  morning,  Churchill.  Come  in.  Glad  to  see 
you.  Sit  down." 

"  When  did  you  get  back,  Lennox  ?" 

"Last  night." 

"Well,  what  luck?" 

"  A  rather  leaky  promise.  Kneading  slag  or  cold 
pig  iron  into  Bessemer  steel  would  be  about  as  easy  as 
pounding  the  law  of  evidence  into  the  Governor's  brains. 
I  emphasized  the  moral  weight  of  the  petition,  by  calling 
his  attention  to  the  signatures  of  the  judge,  jury,  pros 
ecuting  counsel  and  especially  of  Prince,  who  presum 
ably  has  most  to  forgive.  The  memorial  of  the  inspect 
ors,  warden  and  physician  was  appended,  and  constitut 
ed  a  eulogy  upon  the  behavior  and  character  of  the 
prisoner ;  especially  the  heroic  service  rendered  by  her 
during  the  recent  fatal  epidemic.  Human  nature  is  an 


468  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

infernally  vexing  bundle  of  paradoxes,  and  when  a  man 
throws  his  conscience  in  your  teeth,  what  then  ?  The 
argument  from  which  I  hoped  most,  proved  a  Greek 
horse,  and  well-nigh  wrought  ruin.  When  I  dwelt 
upon  the  fact  that  the  prisoner  had  voluntarily  convey 
ed  to  Prince  all  right  and  title  to  the  fortune,  which 
was  supposed  to  have  tempted  her  to  commit  the  crime, 
he  bristled  like  a  Skye  terrier,  and  grandiloquently  as 
sured  me  he  valued  his  '  prerogative  as  something  too 
sacred  to  be  prostituted  to  nepotism!'  Prince  being 
his  cousin,  a  readiness  to  exercise  Executive  clemency 
by  pardoning  the  prisoner,  might  be  construed  into  a 
species  of  bargain  and  sale ;  and  his  Excellency  could 
not  condone  crime  merely  because  the  culprit  had  re 
linquished  a  fortune  to  his  relative.  Braying  an  ordi 
nary  fool  in  a  mortar  is  an  unpromising  job  ;  but  an 
extraordinary  official  leatherhead,  plus  thin-skinned 
conscience,  and  religious  scruples,  requires  the  upper 
and  nether  mill  stone.  You  know,  Churchill,  it  is 
tough  work  to  straighten  a  crooked  ramrod." 

"  I  see ;  a  case  of  moral  curvature  of  the  spine. 
When  he  was  inaugurated  last  December,  I  chanced 
to  be  at  the  Capital,  and  heard  two  old  codgers  from 
the  piney  woods  felicitating  the  State  upon  having  a 
Governor,  '  Fit  to  tie  to  ;  honest  as  the  day  is  long, 
and  walks  so  straight,  he  is  powerful  swaybacked.' 
D  unbar,  did  he  refuse  outright  ?" 

"  He  holds  the  matter  in  abeyance  for  maturer 
deliberation  ;  but  promises  that,  unless  he  sees  cogent 
reasons  to  the  contrary,  he  may  grant  a  pardon  when 
eighteen  months  of  the  sentence  have  expired.  That 
will  be  the  last  week  in  August,  and  almost  two  years 
since  she  was  thrown  into  prison.  I  should  have  made 
application  to  his  predecessor,  Glenbeigh,  had  I  not 
been  so  confident  of  overtaking  the  man  who  killed 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  469 

Gen'l  Darrington;  but  the  clue  that  promised  so 
much  merely  led  me  astray.  I  went  with  the  detec 
tive  down  into  the  mines,  and  found  the  man,  who 
certainly  had  a  hideous  facial  deformity,  but  he  was 
gray  as  a  badger,  and  moreover  proved  an  alibi,  hav 
ing-  been  sick  with  small-pox  in  the  county  pest-house 
on  the  night  of  the  murder.  It  is  a  tedious  hunt,  but 
I  will  not  be  balked  of  my  gume.  I  will  collar  that 
wretch  some  day,  and  meantime  I  will  get  the 
pardon." 

"  I  hope  so ;  for  I  shall  never  feel  easy  until  that 
poor  girl  is  set  free.  The  more  I  hear  of  her  deport 
ment  and  character,  especially  of  the  religious 
influence  she  seems  to  be  exerting  through  some  Bible 
readings  she  holds  among  the  female  convicts,  the 
more  painfully  am  I  oppressed  with  the  conviction  that 
we  all  committed  a  sad  blunder,  and  narrowly  escaped 
hanging  an  innocent  woman." 

"  Speak  for  yourself.  I  disclaim  complicity  in  the 
disgraceful  wrong  of  the  conviction." 

"  Well,  I  confess  I  would  rather  stand  in  your  place 
than  mine  ;  especially  since  my  wife's  brother  Garland 
was  called  in  as  consulting  physician,  last  month  at 
the  penitentiary.  He  has  so  stirred  her  sympathies 
for  the  woman  whom  he  pronounces  a  paragon  of  all 
the  virtues  and  graces,  that  I  begin  to  fidget  now  at 
the  sound  of  the  prisoner's  name,  and  can  hardly  look 
my  wife  straight  in  the  face.  When  I  go  up  to  court 
next  week,  I  will  call  on  the  Governor,  and  add  a 
personal  appeal  to  the  one  I  have  already  signed. 
According  to  the  evidence,  she  is  guilty;  but  when 
justice  is  vindicated,  one  can  afford  to  listen  to  the 
dictates  of  pity.  Now,  Dunbar,  let  me  congratulate 
you  on  your  recent  good  luck.  We  hear  wonderful 
accounts  of  your  new  fortune." 


470  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

' '  Rumor  always  magnifies  such  matters ;  still  it  is 
true  that  I  have  inherited  a  handsome  estate." 

"  Does  your  sister  share  equally  ?" 

"  A  very  liberal  legacy  was  left  to  her,  but  you  are 
aware  that  I  was  named  for  my  mother's  brother, 
Randall  Lennox,  and  he  has  for  many  years  regarded 
me  as  his  heir ;  hence,  gave  me  the  bulk  of  the  pro 
perty." 

"  It  is  rather  strange  that  he  never  married.  I  re 
call  him  as  a  very  distinguished  looking  man." 

"  He  had  a  love  affair  very  early  in  life,  while  at 
college,  with  the  daughter  of  his  Greek  professor. 
Surreptitiously  he  took  her  to  drive  one  afternoon, 
and  the  horse  became  frightened ,  ran  away  and  killed 
the  girl.  He  was  a  peculiar  man,  and  seems  never  to 
have  swerved  from  his  allegiance  to  her  memory." 

"  I  hope  it  is  not  true  that  the  conditions  of  the  will 

require  you  to  remove  from  X and  settle  in  New 

Orleans  ?  We  can't  afford  to  lose  you  from  our  bar." 

"  There  are  no  restrictions  in  my  Uncle  Lennox's 
will ;  the  legacy  was  unconditional ;  but  the  obligation 
of  complying  with  his  urgent  desire  to  have  me  live  in 
New  Orleans  will  probably  induce  me  to  make  that  my 
future  home.  For  several  years  he  has  associated  me 
with  him  in  the  conduct  of  some  important  suits ;  and 
I  understand  now,  that  his  motive  was  to  introduce 
me  gradually  to  a  new  field  of  professional  labor.  Not 
the  least  valuable  of  my  new  possessions  is  his  superb 
law  library,  probably  the  finest  in  the  South.  Of 
course  my  business  will  keep  me  here,  for  the  present, 
and  I  have  matured  no  plans." 

"  Did  you  reach  New  Orleans  before  his  death  ?" 

"  No,  I  was  in  Dakota,  and  missed  a  letter  designed 
to  acquaint  me  with  his  illness.  While  in  Washington 
on  my  return,  arguing  a  case  before  the  Supreme 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  471 

Court,  a  telegram  was  forwarded  from  the  office  here, 
and  I  hurried  off  by  the  first  train,  but  arrived  about 
ten  hours  too  late.  Another  grudge  I  have  to  settle 
with  that  bloody  thief,  when  I  unearth  him." 

"  After  all,  D  unbar,  you  are  a  deucedly  lucky  fellow, 
— and — Hello  !  historic  Hebrew  !  Bedney,  have  you 
seen  a  ghost?" 

"  Yes— Mars  Alfred— two  of  'em." 

Spent  with  fatigue,  panting,  with  an  ashen  pallor  on 
his  leathery,  wrinkled  face,  the  old  negro  ran  into  the 
office,  and  leaned  heavily  against  the  oak  table. 

1 '  What  is  the  matter  ?  Positively,  you  are  turning 
a  grayish  white.  What  is  the  secret  of  the  bleaching  ? 
Police  after  you  ?  Or  does  the  Sheriff  want  you  ?" 

"  Mars  Alfred,  this  ain't  no  fitten  time  to  crack  your 
on'Gawdly  jokes,  for  I  am  scared  all  but  into  fits.  I 
started  in  a  brisk  walk,  but  every  step  I  got  more  and 
more  afeered  to  look  behind,  and  I  struk  a  fox  trot, 
and  now  my  wind  is  clean  gone." 
^  "What  is  the  trouble?  What  are  you  running 
from?" 

'•  'Fore  Gawd,  Mars  Alfred,  sperrits  !   Sperrits,  sir." 

"  Do  you  mean  that  you  want  a  dram  to  steady  your 
nerves?" 

"I'm  that  fiustrated  I  couldn't  say  what  I  want; 
but  I  didn't  signify  bottle  and  jimmyjohn  liquor,  I 
mean  sperrits,  sir,  ghosts  what  walk,  and  make  the 
hair  rise  like  wire  all  over  your  head.  The  ole  house  is 
hanted  shore  'nuff ;  and  I  can't  stay  there.  Lem'me 
tell  you,  Lord !  Mars  Alfred,  don't  laugh !  It's  the 
Gawd's  truth,  ole  Marster's  sperrit  is  fighting  up  yon 
der  in  his  room  with  the  man  what  killed  him.  I  seen 
him,  in  the  broad  daylight,  and  I  have  cum  for  you  and 
Mars  Lennox  to  git  there,  jest  as  quick  as  you  kin,  so 
you  kin  see  it  fur  yourselves.  I  know  you  won't  be- 


±72  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

lieve  it  till  you  see  it ;  nuther  should  I,  but  it's  there. 
The  sperrits  have  cum  back,  to  show  my  young-  mistiss' 
child  never  killed  her  grandpa." 

Mr.  Dunbar  rose  quickly,  handed  a  glass  of  water  to 
the  old  man,  and  then  placed  a  chair  for  him. 

"Tell  me  at  once  what  you  saw." 

1 '  Ole  Marster  standin'  in  the  flo'  close  to  the  vault, 
with  his  arm  up  so  —  and  the  handi'on  in  his  own 
hand—" 

"  How  dare  you  come  here,  with  this  cock-and-bull 
story  ?  You  are  either  drunk  or  in  your  dotage. 
Your  master  has  been  in  his  grave  for  eighteen  months, 
and—" 

"  Oh!  to  be  shore  I  know'd  what  you'd  say.  Cuss 
me  for  an  id  jut ;  but  I  swar,  Mars  Lennox,  I  am  that 
scared  I  dasn't  to  tell  you  no  lie.  The  proof  of  the 
pudden  is  jest  chawin'  the  bag,  an'  1  want  you  both  to 
git  a  carridge  quick,  and  take  me  up  home ;  and  if  you 
don't  see  what  I  tell  you  is  thar,  you  may  kick  me 
from  the  front  door  clean  down  to  the  big  gate.  The 
grave  is  busted  wide  open,  and  the  dead  walks,  for  I 
seen  him  ;  and  I'll  sho'  him  to  you.  Corne  on,  I  want 
you  to  see  for  yourself." 

"  You  imbecile  old  nincompoop !  Go  home,  and  tell 
Dyce  to  give  you  some  catnip  tea,  and  tie  you  to  a 
chair,"  laughed  Mr.  Churchill. 

"  You'll  laugh  t'other  side  of  your  mouth,  Mara 
Alfred,  when  you  see  that  awful  sight  up  yonder, 
Ole  Marster  has  come  back,  to  clare  the  name  of  tan 
grandchile,  for  he  and  his  murderer  is  a  wrastling, 
and  it  ain't  no  'oman,  it's  a  man!  A  tall,  pretty  man, 
.vith  board  on  his  face." 

Mr.  Dunbar  struck  a  bell  at  his  side,  and  a  clerk 

promptly  from  the  rear  room. 
Nesbitt,  step  over  to  the  livery  stable,  and  order  a 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  4:73 

carriage  sent  up  at  once."  Turning  to  Bedney  he 
continued  : 

"  I  suppose  the  gist  of  all  your  yarn-spinning  is,  that 
you  have  found  a  stranger  prowling  about  the  place. 
How  did  you  discover  him  ?" 

"  Lem'me  tell  you,  as  fur  as  I  can,  how  I  cum  to 
see  ole  Marster.  Mr.  Prince  gin  orders  that  the  house 
should  he  opened  and  arred  reglar,  and  he  pintedly 
enjined  us  to  have  that  room  well  cleaned  and  put  in 
order.  We  had  all  pintedly  gin  it  a  wide  berth,  and 
kep'  ourselves  on  t'other  side  of  the  house,  'cause  all 
such  places  is  harryfying ;  but  this  morning,  I  thought 
I  would  open  the  outside  blind  door  on  the  west  gallery, 
and  look  in  through  the  glass  door.  I  know'd  Mr. 
Prince  had  stirred  round  considerable  in  there,  the  day 
before  he  left,  but  I  didn't  know  he  had  drapped  the 
curting  what  was  looped  back  the  last  time  I  was  inside. 
So  I  went  up  the  steps  and  clared  away  a  rose  vine 
what  was  hanging  low  down  from  the  i'on  pillar  of 
the  piazzar,  and  amost  screening  the  door,  and  I  walked 
up,  I  did,  and  looked  in.  Lord  Gawd  Amighty  !  The 
red  curting  was  down  on  the  inside,  and  I  seen  through 
it,  I  swar  to  Gawd  I  did,  sir !  I  seen  clar  spang  through 
into  that  room,  and  thar  stood  Marster  in  his  night 
clothes,  jest  so — and  thar  stood  that  murdering  viP- 
yan  close  to  him,  holding  the  tin  box  so — and  Marster 
with  the  handi'on  jest  daring  him  to  cum  on — and — and 
oh  !  I  am  glad  to  know  my  Marster  was  game  to  the 
last,  died  game  !  Never  show'd  no  white  feather  while 
thar  was  breath  in  his  body.  Mars  Lennox,  I  jest 
drapped  on  my  knees,  and  I  trimbled,  and  my  teeth 
chattered,  and  I  felt  the  hair  as  it  riz  straight  up.  I 
was  afeer'd  to  stay,  and  I  was  afeer'd  to  move  ;  but  I 
shet  my  eyes  and  crawled  back'ards  easy  to  the  aidge 
of  the  steps,  and  then  run  as  fast  as  I  could.  I  wanted 


474  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

Dyce  to  see,  too,  but  the  poor  cretur  is  so  crippled  she 
can't  walk,  and  as  she  weighs  two  hundred  and  twenty 
pounds,  I  couldn't  tote  her ;  so  I  tole  her  what  I  seen, 
and  she  sent  me  straight  to  find  Mars  Alfred  fust, 
and  you  next.  I  run  to  Mars  Alfred's  office,  and  h« 
was  out,  so  I  kep'  on  here.  I  know'd  you  lie'yers  was 
barking  up  the  wrong  tree,  and  wrongfully  pussecutin' 
that  poor  young  gal ;  and  now  the  very  sperrits  have 
riz  up  to  testify  fur  her.  If  you  two  can  face  ole  Mars* 
ter's  ghost,  and  tell  him  you  know  better  than  he  did 
who  killed  him,  you've  got  better  pluck  and  backbone 
than  I  give  you  credit  fur." 

"What  did  you  eat  last  night,  Bedney?  Baked 
possum,  and  fried  chitterlings  ?  Evidently  you  have 
had  a  heavy  nightmare." 

Mr.  Churchill  drew  a  match  across  the  heel  of  his 
boot,  and  lighted  a  cigar ;  looking  quizzically  at  the  old 
man,  who  was  wiping  the  perspiration  from  his  face. 

"  There's  the  carridg,  I  hear  the  wheels.  Mars  Len- 
pox  and  Mars  Alfred,  there  is  one  thing  I  insists  on 
havin'.  The  law  is  all  lop-sided  from  fust  to  last  in 
this  here  case,  and  I  want  it  squoze  into  shape,  till 
t'other  side  swells  out  a  little.  I  want  the  Cr owner  to 
go  up  yonder  now,  and  hold  another  inquess.  He's 
done  sot  all  wrong  on  the  body,  and  now  let  him  set 
on  the  sperrit  if  he  kin.  I'm  in  plum  earnest.  The 
Crowner  swore  that  poor  young  gal  knocked  Marster 
in  the  head  with  the  handi'on ;  and  yonder  stands 
Marster,  ready  to  brain  that  man — with  that  handi'on 
hilt  tight  in  his  own  right  hand.  Now  what  I  wants 
to  know  is,  whar  is  the  '  delectible  corpus '  what  you 
lieyers  argufied  over?" 

"You  doting  old  humbug!  If  you  decoy  us  on  a 
wild  goose  chase  I  shall  feel  like  cutting  one  of  your 
ears  off  I" 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF   TIBERIUS.  475 

"  Slit  'em  both  and  welcome,  Mars  Alfred,  if  you 
don't  find  I'm  telling-  you  the  Gawd's  truth.  I  feel  all 
tore  up,  root  and  branch,  and  if  folks  could  be  scared 
to  death,  I  should  be  stretched  out  this  minute  on  the 
west  piazzar.  I  had  my  doubts  about  ghosts  and 
sperrits,  and  I  lost  my  religion  when  I  cotch  our 
preacher  brandin'  one  of  my  dappled  crumple-horned 
hefers  with  his  i'on ;  but  Bedney  Darrington  is  a 
changed  pusson.  Come  on,  let's  see  which  of  you  will 
dar  to  laugh  up  yonder." 

"  Are  you  really  bent  on  humoring  this  insane  or 
idiotic  vagary?"  asked  Mr.  Churchill,  as  he  saw  his 
companion  take  his  hat  and  prepare  to  follow  the  ne 
gro,  who  had  left  the  room. 

"  His  terror  is  genuine,  and  his  superstitious  tale  is 
probably  the  outer  shell  of  some  kernel  of  fact  that  may 
possibly  be  valuable.  In  cases  of  circumstantial  evi 
dence,  you  and  I  know  the  importance  of  looking  care 
fully  into  the  merest  trifles.  Come  with  me ;  you  can 
spare  an  hour." 

Leaving  the  carriage  at  the  front  entrance  of  the  de 
serted  and  stately  old  house,  the  attorneys  crossed  the 
terrace  and  walked  around  to  the  western  veranda, 
preceded  by  Bedney,  who  paused  at  the  steps,  and 
waved  them  to  ascend. 

"Go  up  and  see  for  yourselves.  I  am  nigh  as  I 
want  to  git." 

The  stone  floor  was  strewn  with  branches  of  rose 
vine,  and  the  pruning  shears  lay  open  upon  them,  just 
as  they  had  fallen  from  the  old  man's  hand.  The  sun 
had  passed  several  degrees  below  the  meridian,  and 
the  shadows  of  the  twisted  iron  columns  were  aslant 
eastward  but  the  glare  of  light  shone  on  the  plate-glass 
door,  which  was  rounded  into  an  arch  at  top,  and  ex 
tended  within  four  inches  of  the  surface  of  the  floor. 


476  AT  THE   MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

where  it  fitted  into  the  wooden  frame.  It  was  one  wide 
sheet,  unbroken  into  panes,  and  on  the  outside  dust 
had  collected,  and  a  family  of  spiders  had  colonized  in 
the  lower  corner,  spinning1  their  gray  lace  quite  across 
the  base.  It  was  evident  that  the  Venetian  blinds  had 
long  been  closed,  and  recently  opened,  as  a  line  of  dust 
and  dried  drift  leaves  attested ;  and  behind  the  glass 
hung  the  dull  red,  plush  curtain,  almost  to  the  floor. 

Both  gentlemen  pressed  forward,  and  looked  in  ;  but 
saw  nothing. 

"  Hang  your  head  kinder  sideways,  down  so,  and 
look  up,  Mars  Lennox." 

Mr.  Dunbar  changed  his  position,  and  after  an  in 
stant,  started  back. 

"  Do  you  see  it,  Churchill  ?  No  hallucination  ;  it  is 
as  plain  as  print,  just  like  the  negative  of  a  photo 
graph." 

"  Bless  my  soul !  It  beats  the  Chinese  jugglers ! 
What  a  curious  thing !" 

"  Stand  back  a  little  ;  you  obstruct  the  light.  Now, 
how  clearly  it  comes  out." 

Printed  apparently  on  the  plush  background,  like 
the  images  in  a  camera,  were  the  distinctly  outlined 
and  almost  life-size  figures  of  two  men.  Clad  in  a 
long  gown,  with  loose  sleeves,  Gen'l  Darrington  stood 
near  the  hearth,  brandishing  the  brass  unicorn  in  one 
hand,  the  other  thrown  out  and  clinched  ;  the  face 
rather  more  than  profile,  scarcely  three-quarters,  was 
wonderfully  distinct,  and  the  hair  much  dishevelled.  In 
front  was  the  second  portrait,  that  of  a  tall,  slender 
young  man  who  appeared  to  have  suddenly  wheeled 
around  from  the  open  vault,  turning  his  countenance 
fully  to  view ;  while  he  threw  up  a  dark,  square  object 
to  ward  off  the  impending  blow*  A  soft  wool  hat 
pushed  back,  showed  the  curling1  hair  about  his 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  477 

temples,  and  the  remarkable  regularity  of  his  hand 
some  features ;  while  even  the  plaid  pattern  of  his 
short  coat  was  clearly  discernible. 

As  the  attorneys  came  closer,  or  stepped  back  from 
the  door,  the  images  seemed  to  vary  in  distinct 
ness,  and  viewed  from  two  angles  they  became  invisi 
ble. 

Mr.  Churchill  stared  blankly;  Mr.  Dunbar's  gaze 
was  riveted  on  the  face  of  the  burglar,  and  he  took  his 
underlip  between  his  teeth,  as  was  his  habit  in  suppres 
sing  emotion. 

"  Of  course  there  is  some  infernal  trick  about  this; 
but  how  do  you  account  for  it  ?  It  is  beyond  Bedney 's 
sleight  of  hand,"  said  the  District  Solicitor. 

"  I  think  I  understand  how  it  came  here.  Bedney, 
go  around  and  open  the  library  door  leading  into  this 
room,  and  loop  back  the  curtain  for  a  moment." 

"  No,  sir,  Mars  Lennox.  Forty  railroad  ingines 
couldn't  pull  me  in  there  alive.  I  wouldn't  dar  tam 
per  with  ole  Marster's  ghost ;  not  for  all  the  money  in 
the  bank.  Go  yourself  ;  I  doesn't  budge  on  no  sech 
bizness  as  prying  and  spying  amongst  the  sperrits.  It 
would  fling  me  into  a  fit." 

"  You  miserable  coward.  Is  the  house  open  ? 
Where  is  the  key  of  this  room  ?" 

"Hanging  on  the  horseshoe  under  my  chimbly 
board.  I'll  fetch  it  and  unlock  the  front  door,  so  you 
kin  git  in,  and  hold  your  inquess  inside." 

"  Will  you  go,  Churchill,  or  shall  I  ?" 

"  What  is  your  idea  ?" 

"  To  ascertain  whether  the  images  are  on  the  glass, 
as  I  believe,  and  if  they  can  be  seen  without  the  back 
ground.  Stand  just  here — and  watch.  When  I  pull 
back  the  curtain,  tell  me  the  effect." 

Some  moments  later,  the  red  folds  shook,  swayed 


478  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

aside,  the  curtain  was  pushed  out  of  sight  on  its  brass 
rod.  The  interior  of  the  apartment  came  into  view; 
the  articles  of  furniture,  the  face  and  figure  of  Mr. 
Dunbar. 

"  Is  it  still  there ;  do  you  see  it  ?"  shouted  the  latter. 

"No.  It  vanished  with  the  curtain.  Drop  it  back. 
There  !  I  see  it.  Now  loop  it.  Gone  again.  Must  be 
on  the  curtain,"  shouted  the  Solicitor,  peering  through 
the  glass  at  his  colleague. 

Mr.  Dunbar  turned  a  key  on  the  inside,  pushed  back 
a  bolt,  and  threw  open  the  door,  which  swung  out 
ward  on  the  veranda.  Then  he  carefully  let  fall  the 
plush  curtain  once  more. 

"  Do  you  see  it  ?" 

"No.  A  blank  show.  I  can't  see  into  the  trick. 
Dunbar,  change  places  with  me  and  satisfy  yourself." 

The  solicitor  went  inside,  and  Mr.  Dunbar  watched 
from  the  veranda  a  repetition  of  the  experiment. 

"  That  will  do,  Churchill.  It  is  all  plain  enough  now, 
but  you  cease  to  wonder  at  Bedney's  superstitious  so 
lution.  You  understand  it  perfectly,  don't  you  ?" 

"  No,  I'll  be  hanged  if  I  do  !  It  is  the  queerest  thing 
I  ever  saw." 

"  Do  you  recollect  that  there  was  a  violent  thunder 
storm  the  night  of  the  murder  ?" 

"  Since  you  mention  it,  I  certainly  recall  it.   Go  on." 

"  All  the  witnesses  testified  that  next  morning  this 
door  was  closed  as  usual,  but  the  outside  blinds  were 
open,  and  the  red  curtain  was  looped  back." 

"  Yes,  I  remember  all  that." 

"The  images  are  printed  on  the  glass,  and  were 
photographed  by  a  flash  of  lightning." 

"  I  never  heard  of  such  a  freak.    Don't  believe  it." 

" Nevertheless  it  is  the  only  possible  solution;  and 
I  know  that  several  similar  instances  have  been  record- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  479 

cd .  It  is  like  the  negative  of  a  common  photograph, 
brought  out  by  a  dark  background  ;  and  do  you  notice 
the  figures  are  invisible  at  certain  angles  ?  It  is  very 
evident  the  storm  came  up  during  the  altercation  that 
night,  and  electricity  printed  the  whole  scene  on  this 
door ;  stamping  the  countenance  of  the  murderer,  to 
help  the  instruments  of  justice.  While  the  blinds  were 
closed,  and  the  curtain  was  looped  aside,  of  course  this 
wonderful  witness  could  not  testify;  but  Prince  let 
down  the  folds  just  before  his  departure,  and  the 
moment  Bedney  opened  the  blinds,  there  lay  the  truth 
ful  record  of  the  awful  crime.  Verily,  the  '  irony  of 
fate !'  An  overwhelming  witness  for  the  defence,  only 
eighteen  months  too  late,  to  save  a  pure,  beautiful  life 
from  degradation  and  ruin.  Well  may  Bedney  ask, 
*  where  is  your  corpus  delicti?'  Alfred  Churchill,  I 
wish  you  joy  of  the  verdict,  you  worked  so  hard  to  win." 

Turning  on  his  heel  Mr.  Dunbar  walked  the  length 
of  the  veranda,  and  stood  gazing  gloomily  across  the 
tangled  mass  of  the  neglected  rose  garden,  taking 
no  cognizance  of  the  garlands  of  bloom,  seeing  every 
where  only  that  lithe  elegant  figure  and  Hyperion  face 
of  the.  man  who  reigned  master  of  Beryl's  heart. 

The  Solicitor  leaned  one  shoulder  against  the  door 
facing,  and  with  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  and  his  brows 
drawn  into  a  pucker,  pondered  the  new  fact,  and  eyed 
the  strange  witness. 

After  a  time,  he  approached  his  companion. 

"  If  your  hypothesis  be  correct,  and  it  seems  plaus 
ible,  if  science  asserts  that  electricity  can  photograph, — 
then  certainly  I  am  sorry,  sorry  enough  for  all  I  did 
in  the  trial ;  yet  I  cannot  reproach  myself,  because  I 
worked  conscientiously;  and  the  evidence  was  con 
clusive  against  the  girl.  The  circumstantial  coinci- 


480  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

dences  were  strong1  enough  to  have  hung-  her.  We  all 
make  mistakes,  and  no  doubt  I  am  responsible  for  my 
share ;  but  thank  God !  reparation  can  be  made !  1 
will  take  the  night  train  and  see  the  Governor  before 
noon  to-morrow.  The  pardon  must  come  now." 

"  Pardon  !  He  cannot  pardon  a  crime  of  which  she 
now  stands  acquitted.  The  only  pardon  possible,  she 
may  extend  to  those  who  sacrificed  her.  His  Excel 
lency  need  exercise  no  prerogative  of  mercy  ;  his  aid 
is  superfluous.  Churchill,  go  in  as  soon  as  you  can, 
and  send  out  the  Sheriff,  with  as  many  of  the  jurors 
as  you  can  get  together  ;  and  ask  Judge  Parkman  to 
drive  out  this  afternoon,  and  bring  Stafford,  the 
photographer,  with  him.  Tell  Doctor  Graham  I  want 
to  see  him  here,  as  he  is  an  accomplished  electrician. 

I  will  stay  here  and  guard  this  door  till  all  X has 

seen  it." 

Winged  rumor  flew  through  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  town,  and  before  sunset  a  human  stream  poured 
along  the  road  leading  to  "  Elm  Bluff",  overflowed  the 
green  lawn  under  the  ancient  poplars,  surged  across 
the  terrace,  and  beat  against  the  railing  of  the  piazza. 
Men,  women,  children,  lawyers,  doctors,  newspaper 
reporters,  all  pressing  forward  for  a  glimpse  of  the 
mysterious  and  weird  witness,  that,  in  the  fulness  of 
time,  had  arisen  to  reprove  the  world  for  a  grievous 
and  cruel  wrong. 

The  hinges  had  been  removed  ;  the  door  was  set  up 
at  a  certain  angle,  carefully  balanced  against  the 
hanging  curtain  ;  and  there  the  curious  crowd  be 
held,  in  a  veritable  vision  of  the  dead,  torn  as  it  were 
from  the  darkness  and  silence  of  the  grave,  the 
secret  of  that  stormy  night,  when  unseen  powers  had 
solemnly  covenanted  in  defence  of  trusting  innocence. 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  481 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Saturday  the  regulations  of  prison  discipline  re- 
duced  the  working-  hours  much  below  the  daily 
quota,  and  at  two  o'clock  the  ringing  of  the  tower  bell 
announced  that  the  busy  convicts  of  the  various  indus 
trial  rooms  were  allowed  leisure  during  the  remainder 
of  the  afternoon,  to  give  place  to  the  squad  of  sweep 
ers  and  scrubbers,  who  flooded  the  floors  and  scoured 
the  benches. 

June  heat  had  followed  fast  upon  the  balmy  breath 
of  May,  and  though  the  air  at  dawn  was  still  iced  with 
crystal  dew,  the  sun  that  shone  through  the  open  win 
dows  of  the  little  chapel,  burned  fiercely  on  the  un- 
painted  pine  seats,  the  undraped  reading-desk  of  the 
pulpit,  the  tarnished  gilt  pipes  of  the  cabinet  organ 
within  the  chancel  railing. 

On  one  of  the  front  benches  sat  Iva  Le  Bougeois, 
with  a  pair  of  crutches  resting  beside  her  on  the  arm 
of  the  seat,  and  her  hands  folded  in  her  lap.  Recov 
ering  slowly  from  the  paralysis  resulting  from  diph 
theria,  she  had  followed  Beryl  into  the  chapel,  and  list 
ened  to  the  hymns  the  latter  had  played  and  sung. 
The  gloss37  black  head  was  bent  in  abject  despondency 
upon  her  breast,  and  tears  dripped  over  the  smooth 
olive  cheeks,  but  no  sound  escaped  the  tr  mbling 
mouth,  once  so  red  and  riotous,  now  drawn  into  curves 
of  passionate  sorrow  ;  and  the  topaz  gleams  that  form 
erly  flickered  in  her  sullen  hazel  63res  were  drowned  in 
the  gloom  of  dejection.  For  her,  memory  was  an  angel 
of  wrath,  driving  her  into  the  hideous  Golgotha  of 
the  past,  where  bloody  spectres  gibbered  ;  the  present 


482  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

was  a  loathsome  death  in  life,  the  future  a  nameless 
torturing  horror.  Helpless  victim  of  her  own  out 
raged  conscience,  she  seemed  at  times  sinking  into 
mental  apathy  more  pitiable  than  that  which  had 
seized  her  physically;  and  the  only  solace  possible, 
she  found  in  the  encouraging  words  uttered  by  the 
voice  that  had  prayed  for  her  during  that  long  night 
of  mortal  agony,  in  the  gentle  pressure  of  the  soft 
hand  that  often  guided  her  tottering  footsteps. 

The  organ  stops  had  been  pushed  back,  the  mu 
sical  echoes  vibrated  no  longer  ;  and  the  bare  room, 
filled  with  garish  sunshine,  was  so  still  that  the  drowsy 
droning  of  a  bee  high  up  on  the  dusty  sash  of  the 
barred  window,  became  monotonously  audible. 

Within  the  chancel  and  to  the  right  of  the  pulpit, 
a  large  reversible  blackboard  had  recently  been  placed, 
and  on  a  chair  in  front  of  it  stood  Beryl,  engrossed  in 
putting  the  finishing  touches  to  a  sketch  which  filled 
the  entire  board ;  and  oblivious  for  the  moment  of  Eve 
Werneth's  baby,  who,  having  emptied  her  bottle  of 
milk,  had  pulled  herself  up  by  the  chair,  and  with  the 
thumb  of  her  right  hand  in  her  mouth,  was  staring  up 
at  the  picture. 

The  lesson  selected  for  the  Sunday  afternoon  Bible 
class,  which  Beryl  had  so  successful^  organized 
among  a  few  of  the  female  convicts,  was  the  fif 
teenth  chapter  of  Luke ;  and  at  the  top  of  the  black 
board  was  written  in  large  letters  :  "  Rejoice  with 
Me,  for  I  have  found  My  sheep  which  was  lost." 

She  had  drawn  in  the  foreground  the  flock  couched 
in  security,  rounded  up  by  the  collie  guard  in  a  grassy 
meadow  ;  in  the  distance,  overhanging  a  gorge,  was  a 
bald,  precipitous  crag,  behind  which  a  wolf  crouched, 
watching  the  Shepherd  who  tenderly  bore  in  his  arms 
the  lost  wanderer.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  black- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  483 

board  had  been  carefully  copied  the  Gospel  Hymn  be 
ginning  : — 

"  There  were  ninety  and  nine  that  safely  lay, 
In  the  shelter  of  the  fold, 
But  one  was  out  on  the  hills  away, 
Far  off  from  the  gates  of  gold, — 
Away  on  the  mountains  wild  and  bare, 
Away  from  the  tender  Shepherd's  care." 

Mental  processes  are  strangely  dualistic,  and  it  not 
unfrequently  happens  that  while  one  is  consciously  in 
tent  upon  a  certain  train  of  thought,  some  secret  cun 
ning  current  of  association  sets  in  vibration  the  coil  of 
ideas  locked  in  the  chambers  of  memory,  and  long  for 
gotten  images  leap  forth,  startling  in  their  pristine 
vividness. 

Absorbed  by  the  text  she  was  illustrating,  the  artist 
insensibly  followed  lines  she  deemed  imaginary,  yet 
when  the  sketch  was  completed,  the  ensemble  sudden 
ly  confronted  her  as  a  miniature  reproduction  of  a  very 
distant  scene,  that  had  gladdened  her  childish  heart  in 
the  blessed  by -gone.  Far  away  from  the  beaten  track 
of  travel,  in  a  sunny  cleft  of  the  Pistoian  Apennines, 
she  saw  the  white  fleeces  grouped  under  vast  chestnuts, 
the  flash  of  copper  buckets  plunged  by  two  peasant 
women  into  a  gurgling  fountain,  the  curly  head  of 
Bertie  bowed  over  the  rude  stone  basin,  as  he  gayly 
coaxed  the  bearers  to  let  him  drink  from  the  beautiful 
burnished  copper ;  the  rocky  terraces  cut  hi  the  beetling 
cliffs  above,  where  dark  ruby-red  oleanders  flouted  the 
sky  with  fragrant  banners  ;  and  the  pathetic  face  of  a 
vagrant  ewe  tangled  among  vines,  high  on  a  jagged 
ledge,  bleating  for  the  lamb  asleep  under  the  chestnuts 
down  in  the  dell. 

Across  the  chasm  of  years  floated  the  echo  of  the 
tinkling  bell,  that  told  where  cows  climbed  hi  search 


4:84  AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

of  herbage  ;  the  singular  rhythmic  cadence  of  Lie 
trescone,  danced  in  a  neighboring  vineyard ;  the  deep, 
mellow,  lingering  tones  of  a  monastery  bell,  rung  by  her 
mit  hands  in  a  gray  tower  on  a  mountain  eyry,  that 
looked  westward  upon  the  sparkling  blue  mirror  of  the 
Mediterranean. 

Then  she  was  twelve  years  old,  dreaming  glorious 
mid-summer  day-dreams,  as  she  wandered  with  parents 
and  brother  on  one  of  her  father's  sketching  tours 
tli rough  unfrequented  nooks  ;  now — ? 

A  petulant  cry,  emphasized  by  the  baby  hand  tug 
ging  at  the  hem  of  her  dress  skirt,  recalled  Beryl's  at 
tention  ;  and  as  she  looked  down  at  the  waif,  whom  the 
chaplain  had  christened  "  Dovie"  on  the  day  of  her 
mother's  burial,  the  little  one  held  up  her  arms. 

"  So  tired,  Dulce  ?  You  can't  be  hungry;  you  must 
want  your  nap.  There  don't  fret,  baby  girl.  I  will 
take  you  directly." 

She  stepped  down,  turned  the  side  of  the  blackboard 
that  contained  the  sketch  to  the  wall ;  lowered  the  sash 
which  she  had  raised  to  admit  fresh  air,  and  lifted  the 
child  from  the  floor.  Approaching  the  figure  who  sat 
motionless  as  a  statue  of  woe,  she  laid  a  hand  on  the 
drooping  shoulder. 

"  Shall  I  help  you  down  the  steps  ?" 

"  No,  I'll  stay  here  a  while.  This  is  the  only  place 
where  I  can  get  courage  enough  to  pray.  Couldn't 
you  leave  her — the  child — with  me  ?  It  has  been  years 
since  I  could  bear  the  sight  of  one.  I  hated  children, 
because  my  heart  was  so  black — so  bitter ;  but  now,  I 
yearn  toward  this  little  thing.  I  am  so  starved  for  the 
kiss  of — of — ,"  she  swept  her  hand  across  her  throat, 
where  a  sob  stifled  her. 

"  Certainly,  if  she  will  stay  contentedly.  See  whether 
she  will  come  to  you." 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  4:85 

At  sight  of  the  extended  arms,  the  baby  shrank  closer 
to  Beryl,  nestled  her  head  under  the  girl's  chin,  and 
put  up  her  lower  lip  in  ominous  protest.  With  an  in 
describably  mournful  gesture  of  surrender,  the  child 
less  mother  sank  back  in  the  corner  of  the  bench. 

"  I  don't  wonder  she  is  afraid  ;  she  knows — every 
body,  everything  knows  I  killed  my  baby — my  own 
boy,  who  slept  for  nearly  four  years  on  my  heart— 

oh":—" 

"  Hush — she  was  frightened  by  your  crying.  She  is 
.sleepy  now,  but  when  she  has  had  her  nap,  and  wakes 
good-humored,  I  will  fill  her  bottle,  and  bring  her 
down  to  you.  Try  not  to  torment  yourself  by  dwelling 
upon  a  distressing  past,  which  you  cannot  undo;  but 
by  prayer  anchor  your  soul  in  God's  pardoning  mercy. 
When  all  the  world  hoots  and  stones  us,  God  is  our 
'  sure  refuge'." 

"  That  promise  is  to  pure  hearts  and  innocent  hands; 
not  to  such  as  I  am,  steeped  to  the  lips  in  crime — black, 
black—" 

"  No.  One  said  :  '  The  whole  need  riot  a  physician ; 
but  they  that  are  sick.'  Your  soul  is  sick  unto  death ; 
claim  the  pledged  cure.  Yonder  I  have  copied  the 
hymn  for  to-morrow's  lesson.  While  you  sit  here, 
commit  it  to  memory;  and  the  Shepherd  will  hear  your 
cry." 

Glancing  back  from  the  chapel  door,  she  saw  that 
the  miserable  woman  had  bowed  her  face  in  her  hands, 
and  with  elbows  supported  on  her  knees,  was  swaying 
back  and  forth  in  a  storm  of  passionate  sobs. 

11  O !  my  beautiful  baby,  my  angel  Max,  pray  for 
mother  now.  Max — Max — there  is  no  '  Sweet  By  and 
By  ' — for  mother — " 

Hurrying  from  the  wail  of  anguish  that  no  human 
agency  could  lighten,  Beryl  carried  the  orphan  across 


486  AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

the  yard,  and  up  the  stairs  leading  to  the  corridor, 
whence  she  was  allowed  egress  at  will.  She  noticed 
casually,  signs  of  suppressed  excitement  among  some 
of  the  convicts,  who  were  lounging  in  groups,  enjoying 
the  half  holiday,  and  three  or  four  men  stood  around 
the  under- warden  who  was  gesticulating  vivaciously ; 
but  at  her  approach  he  lowered  his  voice,  and  she  lived 
so  far  aloof  from  the  jars  and  gossip  of  the  lower 
human  strata,  that  the  suspicious  indications  failed  to 
arouse  any  curiosity. 

The  southwest  angle  of  the  building  was  exposed 
fully  to  the  force  of  the  afternoon  sun,  and  the  narrow 
cell  was  so  hot  that  Beryl  opened  the  door  leading  into 
the  corridor,  in  order  to  create  a  draught  through  the 
opposite  window. 

The  tired  child  was  fretfully  drowsy,  but  with  the 
innate  perversity  of  toddling  babyhood,  resented  and 
resisted  every  effort  to  soothe  her  to  sleep.  Refusing 
to  lie  across  the  nurse's  lap,  the  small  tyrant  clambered 
up,  wrapped  her  arms  about  her  neck,  and  finally 
Beryl  rose  and  walked  up  and  down,  humming  softly 
Chopin's  dreamy  "  Berceuse  ";  while  the  baby  added  a 
crooning  accompaniment  that  grew  fainter  and  inter 
mittent  until  the  blue  eyes  closed,  one  arm  fell,  and 
bhe  thumb  was  plunged  between  the  soft  full  lips. 

Warily  the  nurse  laid  her  down  in  a  cradle,  which 
consisted  of  an  oval  basket  mounted  on  roughly 
fashioned  wooden  rockers,  and  drawing  it  close  to  the 
table,  Beryl  straightened  the  white  cross-barred  muslin 
slip  that  was  too  short  to  cover  the  rosy  dimpled  feet ; 
and  smoothed  the  flossy  tendrils  of  yellow  hair 
crumpled  around  the  lovely  face. 

The  Sister  of  Charity,  who,  in  tne  darkest  hours  of 
the  pestilence  had  shrouded  the  poor  young  mother, 
did  not  forget  the  human  waif  astray  in  the  world ; 


AT  THE  MEROY  OP  TIBERIUS.  487 

but  having"  secured  a  home  for  it  in  an  "asylum,"  to 
which  she  promised  it  should  be  removed  so  soon  as 
all  danger  of  carrying  contagion  was  over,  had  ap 
pointed  the  ensuing  Monday  on  which  to  bear  it  away 
from  the  gloomy  precincts,  where  sinless  life  had  dawned 
in  disgrace  and  degradation.  This  pretty  toy,  dowered 
with  an  immortal  soul,  stained  by  an  inherited  criminal 
strain,  had  appealed  to  the  feminine  tenderness  in 
Beryl's  nature,  and  she  stood  a  moment,  lost  in  admi 
ration  of  the  rounded  curves  and  dainty  coloring. 

"  Poor  little  blossom.  Nobody's  baby !  A  lily  bud 
adrift  on  a  dead  sea  of  sin.  Dovie — Eve  Werneth's 
child — but  you  will  always  be  to  me  Dulce,  my  pretty 
clinging  Dulce,  my  velvet-eyed  cherub  model." 

Turning  away,  she  bathed  her  face  and  hands,  and 
leaned  for  a  while  against  the  southern  window  ;  listen 
ing  to  the  exultant  song  of  a  red  bird  hovering  near  his 
brooding  brown  mate,  to  the  soothing  murmur  of  the 
distant  falls,  borne  in  on  the  wings  of  the  thievish  June 
breeze  that  had  rifled  some  far-off  garden  of  the  aroma 
of  honeysuckle.  The  current  of  air  had  swung  the 
door  back,  leaving  only  a  hand's  breadth  of  open 
space,  and  while  she  sang  to  the  baby,  her  own  voice 
had  Irowned  the  sound  of  footsteps  in  the  corridor. 

On  the  whitewashed  wall  of  the  cell,  a  sheet  of 
:  Ira  wing  paper  had  been  tacked,  and  taking  her  cray 
ons,  Beryl  returned  to  the  cradle,  changed  the  posi 
tion  of  the  child's  left  hand,  and  approaching  tho 
almost  completed  sketch  on  the  wall,  retouched  tlio 
outline  of  the  sleeping  figure.  Now  and  then  she 
paused  in  her  work,  to  look  down  at  the  golden  lushes 
sweeping  the  slumber-flushed  cheeks,  and  pondering 
the  mystery  of  the  waif's  future,  she  chanted  in  a 
rich  contralto  voice,  the  solemn  "  Reproaches "  of 
Gounod's  "Redemption." 


488  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

"  Oh,  my  vineyard,  come  tell  me  why  thy  grapes  are  bitter? 
What  have  I  done,  my  People? 
Wherein  hast  thou  been  wronged  ?" 

For  weeks  the  elaboration  of  this  sketch  had  em 
ployed  every  moment  which  was  not  demanded  for  the 
execution  of  her  allotted  daily  task  in  the  convict 
workroom ;  and  knowing  that  on-  Monday  she  would 
be  bereft  of  her  pretty  model,  she  had  redoubled  her 
exertions  to  complete  it. 

Beside  a  bier  knelt  a  winged  figure,  in  act  of 
stealing-  the  rigid  form,  and  to  the  awful  yet  strangely 
beautiful  face  of  the  messenger  of  gloom,  she  had 
given  the  streaming  hair,  the  sunken,  cavernous  but 
wonderfully  radiant  eyes  of  Moritz  Retzsch's  weird 
image  of  Death.  A  white  butterfly  fluttered  upward, 
and  in  mid-air — neither  descending  nor  drifting,  but 
waiting — poised  on  outspread  pinions,  hovered  the 
Angel  of  the  Resurrection  holding  out  his  hands.  Be 
hind  and  beneath  the  Destroyer,  rolled  dense  shadows, 
and  all  the  light  in  this  picture  rayed  out  from  the 
plumes  above,  and  fell  like  a  glory  on  the  baby's  face. 

Cut  off  from  all  congenial  companionship,  thrown 
upon  her  own  mental  resources,  the  prisoner  had 
learned  to  live  in  an  ideal  world;  and  her  artistic 
tastes  proved  an  indestructible  heritage  of  comfort, 
while  memory  ministered  lavishly  with  images  from 
the  crowded  realm  of  aesthetics.  Victorious  over  the 
stony  limitations  of  dungeon  walls  and  dungeon  disci 
pline,  fetterless  imagination  soared  into  the  kingdom 
of  beauty,  and  fed  her  lonely  soul,  as  Syrian  ravens 
fed  God's  prophet. 

Fourteen  months  had  passed  since  Mr.  Dunbar  walk 
ed  away  from  this  cell,  after  the  interview  relative  to 
Gen'l  Darrington's  will ;  and  though  his  longing  to  see 
the  prisoner  had  driven  him  twice  to  the  entrance  of 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  489 

the  chapel,  whence  he  heard  the  marvellously  sweet 
voice,  and  gazed  at  the  figure  before  the  organ,  no 
word  was  exchanged. 

To-day,  with  his  hand  on  the  bolt  of  the  door,  and 
his  heart  in  his  eyes,  he  leaned  against  the  facing,  and 
through  the  opening  studied  the  occupant  of  the  cell 
that  held  the  one  treasure  which  fate  had  denied  him. 

The  ravages  of  disease,  the  blemish  of  acute  physical 
suffering  had  vanished  ;  the  clear  pallor  of  her  com 
plexion,  the  full  white  throat,  the  rounded  contour  of 
the  graceful  form,  bespoke  complete  restoration  of  all 
the  vital  forces ;  and  never  had  she  appeared  so  incom 
parably  beautiful. 

Oppressed  by  the  heat,  she  had  pushed  back  the 
hair  from  her  temples,  and  though  hopeless  sadness 
reigned  over  the  profound  repose  of  her  features,  the 
expression  of  her  eyes  told  that  the  dream  of  the  artist 
had  borne  her  beyond  surrounding  ills. 

Where  the  button  of  her  blue  homespun  dress  fasten 
ed  the  collar,  she  wore  a  sprig  of  heliotrope  and  a 
cluster  of  mignonette,  from  the  shallow  box  In  the 
window-ledge  where  they  grew  together. 

How  long  he  stood  there,  surrendering  himself  to 
the  happiness  of  watching  the  woman  whom,  against 
his  will,  he  loved  with  such  unreasoning  and  passionate 
fervor,  Mr.  Dunbar  never  knew;  but  a  sudden  recollec 
tion  of  the  face  printed  on  the  glass,  the  face,  beautiful 
as  fabled  Hylas— of  the  man  for  whose  sake  she  was 
willing  to  die — stung  him  like  an  adder's  bite;  and 
setting  his  teeth  hard,  he  rapped  upon  the  door  held 
ajar  ;  then  threw  it  open. 

At  sight  of  him,  her  arm,  lifted  to  the  sketch,  fell  ; 
the  crayon  slipped  from  her  nerveless  fingers,  and  a 
glow  rich  as  the  heart  of  some  red  June  rose  stained 
her  cheeks. 


490  AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

As  he  stepped  toward  her,  she  leaned  against  the 
wall,  and  swiftly  d  rew  the  baby's  cradle  between  them. 
He  understood,  and  for  a  moment  recoiled. 

"  You  barricade  yourself  as  though  I  were  some 
loathsome  monster !  Are  you  afraid  of  me  ?" 

"  What  is  there  left  to  fear  ?  Have  you  spared  any 
exertion  to  accomplish  that  which  you  believe  would 
overwhelm  me  with  sorrow  ?" 

"  You  cannot  forgive  my  rejection  of  the  overtures 
for  a  compromise  wrung  from  you  by  extremity  of 
dread,  when  I  started  to  Dakota  ?" 

"  That  rejection  freed  me  from  a  self-imposed,  gall 
ing  promise ;  and  hence  I  forgive  all,  because  of  the 
failure  of  your  journey." 

"  Suppose  I  have  not  failed  ?" 

She  caught  her  breath,  and  the  color  in  her  cheeks 
flickered. 

"  Had  you  succeeded,  I  should  not  have  been  allow 
ed  so  long  the  comparative  mercy  of  suspense." 

"  Am  I  so  wantonly  cruel,  think  you,  that  I  gloat 
over  your  sufferings  as  a  Modoc  at  sight  of  the  string 
of  scalps  dangling  at  his  pony's  neck?" 

' ( When  the  spirit  of  revenge  is  unleashed,  Tiberius 
becomes  a  law  unto  himself." 

He  leaned  forward,  and  his  voice  was  freighted  with 
tenderness  that  he  made  no  attempt  to  disguise. 

"  Once  after  that  long  swoon  in  the  court-room,  when 
I  helcl  your  hand,  you  looked  at  me  without  shrinking, 
and  called  me  Tiberius.  Again,  when  for  hours  I  sat 
beside  your  cot,  watching  the  crisis  of  your  first  terri 
ble  illness,  you  opened  your  eyes  and  held  out  your  hand, 
saying  :  '  Have  you  come  for  me,  Tiberius  ?'  Why 
have  you  told  me  you  were  at  the  mercy  of  Tiberius  ?" 

Hitherto  she  had  avoided  looking  at  him,  and  kept 
her  gaze  upon  the  sleeping  child,  but  warned  by  the 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  491 

tone  that  made  her  heart  throb,  she  bravely  lifted  her 
eyes. 

"When  next  you  write  to  your  betrothed,  ask  her 
to  go  to  the  Museo  Chiaramonti  while  in  Borne,  and 
standing  before  the  crowned  Tiberius,  she  will  fancy 
her  future  husband  welcomes  her.  Your  wife  will  need 
no  better  portrait  of  you  than  a  copy  of  that  head." 

Into  his  eyes,  leaped  the  peculiar  glow  that  can  be 
likened  unto  nothing  but  the  clear  violet  flame  dancing 
over  a  bed  of  burning  anthracite  coal,  and  into  his  voice 
an  exultant  ring : 

"  Meantime,  like  my  inexorable  prototype,  '  I  hold  a 
wolf  by  the  ears'.  Shall  I  tell  you  my  mission  here  ?" 

"  As  it  appears  I  am  indeed  always  at  the  mercy  of 
Tiberius,  your  courtesy  savors  of  sarcasm." 

"  Oh,  my  stately  white  rose  !  My  Rosa  Alba,  I  will 
see  to  it,  that  no  polluting  hand  lays  a  grasp  on  you. 
My  errand  should  entitle  me  to  a  more  cordial  reception, 
for  I  bring  you  good  news.  Will  you  lay  your  hand  in 
mine  just  once,  while  I  tell  you  ?" 

He  extended  his  open  palm,  but  she  shook  her  head 
and  smiled  sadly. 

"In  this  world  no  good  news  can  ever  come  to  me." 

"  Do  you  know  that  recently  earnest  efforts  have 
been  made  to  induce  the  Governor  to  pardon  you  ? 
That  I  have  just  returned  from  a  visit  to  him  ?" 

"  I  was  not  aware  of  it ;  but  I  am  grateful  for  your 
effort  in  my  behalf." 

"  I  was  disappointed.  The  pardon  was  not  granted. 
Since  then,  fate, who  frowned  so  long  upon  you,  has  come 
to  your  rescue.  The  truth  has  been  discovered,  pro 
claimed  ;  and  I  came  here  this  afternoon  with  an  order 
for  your  release.  For  you  the  prison  doors  and  gates 
stand  open.  You  are  as  free  as  you  were  that  cursed 
day  when  first  you  saw  me  and  robbed  my  life  of  peace." 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

For  a  moment  she  looked  at  him  bewildered ;  then  a 
great  dread  drove  the  blood  f  rcm  her  lips,  and  her  voice 
shook. 

"  What  truth  has  been  discovered?" 

"  The  truth  that  you  are  innocent  has  been  estab 
lished  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  judge  and  jury,  pros 
ecution  and  Governor,  sheriff,  warden,  and  you  are 
free.  Not  pardoned  for  that  which  all  the  world  knows 
now  you  never  committed  ;  but  acquitted  without  man's 
help,  by  the  discovery  of  a  fact  which  removes  every 
shadow  of  suspicion  from  your  name.  You  are  at 
liberty,  owing  no  thanks  to  human  mercy  ;  vindicated 
by  a  witness  subpoenaed  by  the  God  of  justice,  in  whom 
you  trusted — even  to  the  end." 

"  Witness  ?  What  witness  ?  You  do  not  mean  that 
you  have  hunted  down — " 

She  paused,  and  her  white  face  was  piteous  with  ter 
ror,  as  pushing  away  the  cradle  she  came  close  to  him. 

"  I  have  seen  the  face  of  the  man  who  killed  Gen'l 
Darrington." 

She  threw  up  her  arms,  crossing  them  over  her  head. 

"  0,  my  God!  Have  I  suffered  in  vain  ?  Shall  I  be 
denied  the  recompense?  After  all  my  martyrdom, 
must  I  lose  the  one  hope  that  sustained  me  ?" 

Despite  the  rage  which  the  sight  of  her  suffering  woke 
within  his  heart,  he  could  not  endure  to  witness  it. 

"  Can  you  find  no  comfort  in  release  ?  No  joy  in  the 
consciousness  of  your  triumphant  vindication?" 

"  None  !  If  you  have  robbed  me  of  that  which  is  all 
I  care  for  on  earth,  what  solace  can  I  find  in  release  ? 
Vindication  ?  What  is  the  opinion  of  the  world  to  me  ? 
Oh  !  how  have  I  ever  wronged  you,  that  you  persecute 
me  so  vindictively,  that  you  stab  the  only  comfort  life 
can  ever  hold  for  me  ?" 

"  And  you  love  him  so  insanely,  that  to  secur*  his 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  493 

safety,  existence  here  in  this  moral  sty  is  sweet  in 
comparison  with  freedom  unshared  with  him  ?  Listen  ! 
That  belief  stirs  the  worst  elements  in  my  nature ;  it 
swing's  the  whip  of  the  furies.  For  your  own  sake,  do 
not  thrust  your  degrading  madness  upon  my  notice.  I 
have  labored  to  liberate  you ;  have  subordinated  all 
other  aims  to  this,  and  now,  that  I  have  come  to  set 
you  free,  you  repulse  and  spurn  me  !" 

She  was  so  engrossed  by  one  foreboding-,  that  it 
was  evident  she  had  not  even  heard  him,  as  moving  to 
the  bench  in  front  of  the  window  she  sat  down, 
shivering.  Her  black  brows  contracted  till  they  met, 
and  the  strained  expression  of  her  eyes  told  that  she 
was  revolving  some  possibility  of  succor. 

"  Where  did  you  see  my — my —  ?" 

"  Not  in  Dakota  mines, where  I  expected  to  find  him." 

"  Mr.  D unbar."    She  pointed  to  the  chair  at  her  side. 

He  shook  his  head,  but  approached  and  stood  before 
her. 

"  I  am  waiting  to  hear  you." 

"  I  sent  you  a  telegram,  promising  information  that 
would  have  prevented  that  journey." 

"  It  failed  to  reach  me." 

Unconsciously  she  was  wringing  her  hands  as  her 
thoughts  whirled. 

"  I  will  tell  you  something  now,  if  you  will  promise 
me  that  no  harm  shall — " 

He  laughed  scornfully. 

"  As  if  I  had  anything  to  learn  concerning  that  cow 
ardly  villain  !  Thanks  for  your  confidence,  which  comes 
much  too  late." 

"  You  do  not  know  that — " 

"  Yes,  I  know  all  I  want  to  know ;  more  than  you 
shall  ever  tell  me,  and  I  decline  to  hear  a  confession 
that,  in  my  eyes,  defiles  you  ;  that  would  only  drivs 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

me  to  harsh  denunciation  of  your  foul  idol.  Moreover, 
I  will  not  extort  by  torture  what  you  have  withheld  so 
jealously.  Do  not  wring*  your  hands  so  desperately. 
You  are  goaded  to  confession  now,  because  you  believe 
that  I  have  secured  your  lover?  Take  courage,  he 
has  not  yet  been  arrested ;  he  is  still  a  wanderer  hiding 
from  retribution." 

She  sprang  up,  trembling, 

"  But  you  said  you  had  seen  his  face  ?' 

"  Yes,  and  I  have  come  to  take  you  where  you  can 
identify  that  face  ?" 

"  Then,  he  is  dead."  She  covered  her  face  with  her 
hands. 

"  No,  I  wish  to  God  he  was  dead  !  Sit  down.  I  will 
not  see  you  suffer  such  agony.  He  is  safe  for  the 
present.  If  you  will  try  to  think  of  yourself  for  a  mo 
ment,  and  pay  me  the  compliment  of  listening,  I 
will  explain.  Do  you  recollect  that  during  the  storm 
on  the  night  of  the  murder  the  lightning  was  remark 
ably  vivid  and  severe  ?" 

"  Yes ;  can  I  ever  forget  any  details  of  that  night  ? 
Go  on." 

"  Do  you  recall  the  position  of  the  glass  door  on  the 
west  veranda;  and  also  that  the  crimson  drapery  or 
curtain  was  drawn  aside  ?" 

'  *  I  recall  it  distinctly  because,  while  Gen'l  Darring- 
ton  was  reading  my  mother's  letter,  I  looked  out 
through  the  glass  at  the  chrysanthemums  blooming  in 
the  garden." 

"  That  door  was  almost  opposite  the  chimney,  and 
the  safe  or  vault  in  the  wall  was  very  near  the  fireplace. 
It  appears  that  when  the  chloroform  failed  to  stupefy 
Gen'l  Darrington,  he  got  up  and  seized  one  of  the  and 
irons  on  the  hearth,  and  attacked  the  thief  who  was 
stealing  his  money.  While  they  were  struggling  in 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  495 

front  of  the  vault,  a  burst  of  electricity,  some  pecu 
liarly  vivid  flash  of  lightning,  sent  by  fate,  by  your 
guardian  angel,  it  may  have  been  by  God  himself — pho 
tographed  both  men,  and  the  interior  of  the  room  on 
the  wide  glass  panel  of  that  door.  Forms,  faces,  feat 
ures,  even  the  pattern  of  the  cloth  coat,  are  printed 
plainly  there,  for  the  whole  world  to  study.  The  mur 
derer  and  the  victim  in  mortal  combat  over  the  tin  box. 
Accident— shall  I  say  Providence— unexpectedly  brought 
this  witness  to  light.  The  curtain  so  long  looped  back, 
was  recently  lowered,  and  when,  two  days  ago,  the  out 
side  blinds  were  opened,  there  lay  your  complete  vin 
dication.  Crowds  have  seen  it ;  the  newspaper  issued 
an  'extra',  and  so  general  was  the  rejoicing,  that  a  pub 
lic  demonstration  would  have  been  made  here  at  the 
gaol,  had  not  Churchill  and  I  harangued  the  people 
and  assured  them  it  would  only  annoy  and  embarrass 

you.     So  you  are  free.     Free  to  shake  the  dust  of  X 

forever  from  your  feet ;  and  it  must  comfort  your  proud 
soul  to  know  that  you  do  not  owe  your  liberty  to  the 
mercy  of  a  community  which  wronged  you.  I  forbade 
Singleton  to  tell  you,  to  allow  any  premature  hint  to 
reach  you ;  for  I  claimed  the  privilege  of  bringing 
the  glad  tidings.  Last  night  I  spent  in  that  room  at 
'Elm  Bluff',  guarding  that  door;  and  the  vigil  was 
cheered  by  the  picture  hope  drew,  that  when  I  came 
to-day  you  would  greet  me  kindly;  would  lay  your 
dear  hands  in  mine,  and  tell  me  that,  at  least,  grati 
tude  would  always  keep  a  place  for  me  warm  in  your 
noble  heart.  I  have  my  recompense  hi  the  old  curren 
cy  of  scorn.  It  were  well  for  you  if  you  had  shown 
me  your  hatred  less  plainly ;  now  I  shall  indulge  less 
hesitation  in  following  the  clue  the  lightning  lays  in 
my  grasp.  I  warn  you  that  your  release  only  expe 
dites  his  arrest ;  for  you  can  never  pass  beyond  my 


4:96  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

surveillance ;  and  the  day  you  hasten  to  him,  seals 
his  fate.  Long  imprisoned  doves,  when  set  free, 
fly  straight  to  their  distant  mates  ;  so — take  care — 
lest  the  hawk  overtake  both." 

Looking  up  at  him,  listening  almost  breathlessly  to 
the  tale  of  a  deliverance  that  involved  new  peril  for 
Bertie,  the  color  came  slowly  back  to  her  blanched 
face,  and  her  parted  lips  quivered. 

"  If  the  picture  means  anything,  it  proves  that 
Gen'l  Darrington  made  the  assault  with  the  brass  and 
iron,  and  in  the  struggle  that  followed,  the  man  you 
saw  might  have  killed  him  in  self  defence." 

"When  he   is  brought   to  trial  in  X he  shall 

never  be  allowed  the  benefit  of  your  affectionate  sup 
position.  I  promise  you,  that  I  will  annihilate  your 
tenderly  devised  theory." 

He  ground  his  teeth  in  view  of  the  transparent 
fact,  that  she  was  too  intently  considering  the  bearing 
of  the  revelation  upon  the  safety  of  another,  to  heed 
the  thought  of  her  own  escape  from  bondage. 

The  little  cluster  of  flowers  fastened  at  her  throat 
had  become  loosened,  and  fell  unnoticed  into  her  lap, 
He  stooped,  picked  them  up,  and  straightened  them  on 
his  palm.  When  his  eyes  returned  to  Beryl,  she  had 
bowed  her  face  in  her  shielding  hands. 

How  little  he  dreamed  that  she  was  silently  praying 
for  strength  to  deny  the  cry  of  her  own  beating  heart, 
and  to  keep  him  from  making  shipwreck  of  the  honor 
which  she  supposed  was  still  pledged  to  Leo !  Security 
for  her  brother,  and  unswerving  loyalty  to  the  absent 
woman  who  had  befriended  her  in  the  darkest  hours 
of  the  accusation,  were  objects  difficult  to  accom 
plish  simultaneously;  yet  at  every  hazard  she  would 
struggle  on.  Because  she  had  learned  to  love  so 
Well  this  man,  who  was  the  promised  husband  of 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  497 

another,  conscience  made  her  merciless  to  her  own 
disloyalty. 

Mr.  Dunbar  laid  on  the  bench  a  small  package  sealed 
in  yellow  paper. 

"  Knowing-  that  your  detention  here  has  necessarily 
forfeited  all  the  industrial  engagements  by  which  you 
maintained  yourself,  before  you  came  South,  I  have 
been  requested  to  ask  your  acceptance  of  this  purse, 
which  contains  sufficient  money  to  defray  your  ex 
penses  until  you  resume  your  art  labors.  It  is  an 
offering  from  your  twelve  jurors." 

"  No— no.  I  could  never  touch  it.  Tell  them  for  me 
that  I  am  not  vindictive.  I  know  they  did  the  best 
they  could  for  me,  in  view  of  the  evidence.  Tell  them 
I  am  grateful  for  their  offer,  but  I  cannot  accept  it. 
I—" 

"  You  imagine  I  am  one  of  the  generous  contributors  ? 
Be  easy  ;  I  have  not  offered  you  a  cent.  I  am  merely 
the  bearer  of  the  gift,  or  rather  the  attempt  at  restitu 
tion.  Your  refusal  will  grieve  them,  and  add  to  the 
pangs  of  regret  that  very  justly  afflict  them  al 
present." 

"  I  have  some  money  which  Doctor  Grantlin  collect 
ed  for  my  Christmas  card.  He  retained  only  a  portion 
of  the  amount,  and  sent  me  the  remainder.  Mr.  Sin 
gleton  keeps  it  for  me,  and  it  is  all  that  I  need  now." 

"  The  purse  contains  also  a  ticket  to  New  York,  as 
it  has  been  supposed  that  you  would  desire  to  return 
there  at  once." 

"Take  all  back,  with  my  earnest  thanks.  I  prefer 
to  owe  X only  the  remembrance  of  the  great  kind 
ness  which  some  few  have  shown  me.  The  officers  here 
have  been  uniformly  considerate  and  courteous  to  me  ; 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Singleton  will  ever  be  very  dear  to  me  for 
numberless  kind  deeds;  and  Sister  Serena  was  a  staff 


498  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

of  strength  during  that  frightful  black  week  of  the 
trial." 

She  paused,  and  her  voice  betrayed  something  of  the 
tumult  at  her  heart,  as  while  a  sudden  wave  of  scarlet 
overflowed  her  cheeks,  she  rose  and  held  oat  both 
hands. 

"Mr.  Dunbar,  if  I  have  seemed  unappreciative  of 
your  great  exertions  in  my  behalf,  it  is  merely  because 
there  are  some  matters  which  I  can  never  explain  in 
this  world.  One  thing  I  ask  you  to  believe  when  I  am 
gone.  I  will  never,  so  long  as  I  live,  cease  to  remem 
ber  the  debt  I  owe  you.  I  am  and  shall  be  inexpres 
sibly  grateful  to  you,  and  whenever  I  think  of  my  ter 
rible  sojourn  here,  be  sure  I  shall  recall  tenderly — oh ! 
how  tenderly!  the  two  friends  who  trusted  and  believed 
in  my  innocence,  when  all  the  world  denounced 
me;  the  two  who  generously  clung  to  me  when 
public  opinion  branded  me  as  an  outcast — you  two — 
my  best  friends,  you  and  Miss  Gordon.  It  makes  me 
proud  and  happy  to  know  in  this  hour  of  my  vindica 
tion,  that  in  her,  and  in  your  good  opinion,  I  needed 
none.  Out  of  your  united  lives,  let  me  pass  as  a  fleet 
ing  gray  shadow." 

*  *  Out  of  my  life  you  can  never  pass.  Into  it  you 
have  brought  disappointment,  humiliation,  and  a  keen 
ness  of  suffering  such  as  I  never  imagined  I  was  cap 
able  of  enduring ;  and  some  recompense  I  will  have. 
You  hope  to  plunge  into  the  vortex  of  a  great  city, 
where  you  can  elude  observation  and  obliterate  all 
traces.  Do  not  cherish  the  ghost  of  such  a  delusion. 
Go  where  you  may,  but  I  give  you  fair  warning,  you 
cannot  escape  me ;  and  the  day  you  meet  that  guilty 
vagabond,  you  betray  him  to  the  scouts  of  justice." 

He  held  her  hands  in  a  close,  warm  clasp,  and  a  flush 
crossed  his  brow,  as  he  looked  down  into  her  quivering 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  499 

face  where  a  smile  which  he  could  not  interpret,  seemed 
only  a  challenge. 

"  Would  a  generous  man,  worthy  of  Miss  Gordon, 
harass  and  persecute  a  very  unhappy  and  unfortunate 
woman,  who  asks  at  his  hands  only  to  be  forgotten 
completely,  to  be  left  in  peace  ?" 

"I  lay  no  claim  to  generosity,  and,  where  you  are 
concerned,  I  am  supremely  selfish.  Miss  Gordon  has 
no  need  of  your  championship  ;  she  is  quite  equal  to  re 
dressing  her  own  wrongs,  when  the  necessity  presents 
itself.  You  are  struggling  to  free  your  hands,  so  be  it. 
I  have  a  close  carriage  at  the  gate,  and  to  make  assur 
ance  doubly  sure,  I  have  come  to  take  you  to  '  Elm 
Bluff ';  to  show  you  the  face,  and  ask  you  to  identify  it. 
Understand  me,  I  will  harass  you  with  no  questions  ; 
nor  will  I  intrude  upon  you  there.  I  have  ordered 
the  grounds  cleared,  have  posted  police  to  prevent  the 
possibility  of  any  occurrence  unpleasant  to  you  ;  and  all 
I  ask  is,  that  alone,  you  will  examine  this  witness, 
produced  so  strangely  for  your  justification.  I  shall 
wait  for  you  in  the  rose  garden,  and  if  you  can  come 
down  from  that  gallery  and  tell  me  that  the  face  is  un 
known  to  you,  that  the  man  photographed  in  the  act 
of  stealing,  is  a  stranger  ;  is  not  the  man  you  love  so 
well  that  you  bore  worse  than  death  to  save  him  from 
punishment,  then  I  will  give  up  the  quest ;  and  you 
may  flee  unwatched  to  the  ends  of  the  earth." 

"  Never  again  will  I  see  that  place  which  has  blasted 
every  hope  that  life  held  for  me." 

"  Not  even  to  clear  away  aspersion  from  his  beloved 
name?" 

"I  pray  God,  his  beloved  and  sacred  name  may 
never  be  associated  with  a  crime  so  awful." 

"You  wiL  not  go  to  see  the  face?  Remember,  I 
shall  ask  you  neither  yea  nor  nay.  I  shall  need 


500  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

only  to  look  once  into  your  eyes,  after  you  have  seen 
the  Gorgon,  Beryl,  my  white  rose  !  Are  you  asham 
ed  to  show  me  your  idol's  face  ?" 

"  I  will  never  go  to  '  Elm  Bluff  V 

"  It  is  no  longer  necessary.  You  know  already  the 
features  printed  there,  and  your  avoidance  stamps  them 
with  infamy.  How  can  your  lofty  soul,  your  pure 
heart,  tolerate  a  creature  so  craven,  so  vile  ?" 

"  We  love  not  always  whom  we  would,  or  should, 
were  choice  permitted  us ;  and  to  whom  I  have  given 
my  heart,  my  whole  deep  heart,  you  shall  never  learn." 

The  mournful  smile  that  lent  such  wistful  loveliness 
to  her  flushed  face,  seemed  to  him  merely  a  renewed 
defiance. 

"  I  bide  my  time,  knowing  it  will  surely  come.  You 
are  free,  but  be  careful.  Once  when  you  lay  upon  the 
brink  of  the  grave,  unconscious,  I  knelt  at  your  side 
and  took  you  in  my  arms  ;  laid  your  head  on  my  heart, 
felt  your  cheek  touch  mine.  Then  and  there  I  made 
a  covenant  with  my  soul ;  and  no  other  man's  arms 
shall  ever  enfold  you.  Ah,  my  Rosa  Alba!  I  could 
dig  your  grave  with  my  own  hands,  sooner  than  see 
that  thief  claim  you.  I  am  a  proud  man,  and  you  have 
dragged  me  through  the  slough  of  humiliation,  but  to 
day,  as  I  bid  you  good-bye,  I  realize  how  one  felt,  who 
looking  at  the  bust  of  him  she  loved  supremely,  said 
with  her  last  breath  :  *  Voila  mon  univers,  mon  es- 
poir,  et  mes  dieux  /'  How  soon  we  meet  again  depends 
solely  on  your  future  course.  You  know  the  condi 
tions;  and  I  promise  you  I  will  not  swerve  one  iota." 

He  took  her  hand,  drew  it  across  his  cheek,  laid  it  on 
his  lips' ;  and  a  moment  later  walked  away,  with  the 
faded  Powers  folded  close  in  bis  palm. 


AT  THE  KEIICY   OF  TIBERIUS.  601 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

/CONVENIENTLY  contiguous  to  the  busy  centre  of 
^  a  wide  and  populous  city,  situated  on  the  shore  of 
one  of  those  great  inland  fresh-water  seas,  whose  lake 
line  girdles  the  primeval  American  upheaval,  the 
Laurentian  rocks, — stands  in  the  middle  of  a  square, 
enclosed  by  a  stone  coping  and  an  iron  railing,  a  state 
ly  pile  of  brick  and  granite  several  stories  high,  flanked 
by  wings  that  enclose  in  the  rear  a  spacious  court.  The 
fagade  was  originally  designed  hi  the  trabeated  style, 
and  still  retained  its  massive  entrance,  with  straight, 
grooved  lintel  over  the  door  which  was  adorned  by  four 
round  columns  ;  but  subsequent  additions  reflected  the 
fluctuations  of  popular  architectural  taste,  in  the  later 
arched  windows,  the  broad  oriel  with  its  carved  corbel, 
and  in  the  new  eastern  wing-,  that  had  flowered  into 
a  Tudor  tower  with  bulbous  cupola.  The  strip  of  vel 
vet  sward  between  the  street  and  the  house  entrance, 
was  embossed  with  brilliant  coleus  set  in  the  form  of 
anchors ;  and  a  raised  border,  running  the  entire  length 
under  the  windows  of  the  basement,  was  ablaze  with 
g-eraniums  of  various  hues. 

On  a  granite  pediment  above  the  portico,  a  large 
bronze  anchor  was  supported,  and  beneath  it  was  cu1 
in  projecting  letters  :  "  The  Umilta  Anchorage". 

In  front  of  the  building  ran  a  broad,  paved  boule 
vard  ;  in  the  rear,  the  enclosure  was  bounded  by  a 
.stone  wall,  overgrown  with  ivy,  and  built  upon  the 
verge  of  the  blue  lake,  whose  waves  broke  against  the 
base,  and  rolled  away  in  the  distance  beyond  the 
northern  horizon. 


502  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

Fully  in  accord  with  the  liberal  eclecticism  that  char 
acterized  its  exterior,  was  the  wide-eyed,  deep,  tender 
hearted  charity  which,  ignoring1  all  denominational 
barriers,  opened  its  doors  in  cordial  welcome  to  worthy, 
homeless  women,  whom  misfortune  had  swept  away 
from  family  moorings,  and  whose  clean  hands  and  pure 
hearts  sought  some  avenue  to  honest  work.  The  insti 
tution  was  a  memorial,  erected  and  endowed  by  a 
wealthy  man,  whose  only  child  Umilta,  just  crossing 
the  threshold  of  womanhood,  had  been  lost  in  a  sudden 
storm  on  the  lake ;  whose  fair,  drowned  face  had  been 
washed  ashore  just  below  the  stone  wall,  and  whose 
statue  stood,  guarded  by  marble  angels,  in  the  small 
chapel  in  the  centre  of  the  building,  which  was  designed 
as  an  enduring  monument  to  commemorate  her  untime 
ly  fate,  and  perpetuate  her  name. 

Divided  into  various  industrial  departments,  the 
"  Anchorage"  was  maintained  almost  entirely  by  the 
labor  of  its  inmates  ;  and  it  had  rarely  been  found  nec 
essary  to  draw  from  the  reserve  endowment  fund,  that 
was  gradually  accumulating  for  future  contingencies. 

Trained  nurses,  trained  housekeepers  were  furnished 
on  demand  ;  lace  curtains  mended,  laundered  ;  dainty 
lingerie  of  every  description,  from  a  baby's  wardrobe 
to  a  bride's  trousseau ;  ornamental  needle-work  on  all 
fabrics,  artificial  flowers,  card  engraving,  artistic  de 
signs  for  upholstering,  menus,  type- writing,  all  readily 
supplied  to  customers ;  and  certain  confectionery  put 
up  in  pretty  boxes  made  by  the  inmates,  and  bearing- 
the  "  Anchor"  stamp.  A  school  of  drawing,  etching, 
painting,  and  embroidery  attracted  many  pupils ;  and 
a  few  pensioners  who  had  grown  too  infirm  and  dim- 
eyed  for  active  work,  had  a  warm,  bright  room  where 
they  knitted  stockings  and  underwear  of  various 
kinds. 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  503 

At  one  end  of  the  long  refectory  was  emblazoned  on 
the  wall :  "For  whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of  my  Father 
which  is  in  Heaven,  the  same  is  my  brother  and  sister 
and  mother."  At  the  other :  "  Bear  ye  one  another's 
burdens."  The  chapel  contained  no  pulpit,  but  on  a 
marble  altar  stood  a  life-size  figure  of  a  woman  cling 
ing  to  the  cross ;  and  on  the  walls  hung  paintings  rep 
resenting  the  Crucifixion,  the  Descent,  the  Resurrection 
and  the  Mater  Dolor osa  ;  while  in  a  niche  at  the  ex 
tremity, behind  the  altar,  an  Ecce  Homo  of  carved  ivory 
was  suspended  above  a  gilt  cross,  and  just  beneath  it 
glittered  the  motto  "Faith,  Hope,  Charity".  Every 
morning  and  evening  the  band  of  women  gathered  here, 
and  recited  the  Apostles'  Creed,  and  the  Lord's  Prayer; 
but  on  Sabbath  the  members  attended  the  church  best 
suited  to  their  individual  tenets. 

The  infirmary  was  a  cheerful,  airy  room,  and  here 
professional  nurses  were  trained  under  the  guidance  of 
visiting  physicians  ;  and  in  an  adjoining  kitchen  were 
taught  to  prepare  the  articles  of  diet  usually  belonging 
to  the  regimen  of  sick  rooms. 

Widows,  maidens,  Catholics,  Protestants,  admitted 
from  the  age  of  eighteen  to  forty,  these  "  Umilta  Sis 
ters  "  were  received  on  probation  for  eighteen  months; 
then  entered  upon  a  term  of  five  years,  subject  to  re 
newal  at  will ;  bound  by  specified  rules,  but  no  irrevoc 
able  vow.  Yielding  implicit  obedience  to  the  matron, 
elected  by  themselves  every  four  years — subject  to  ap 
proval  and  ratification  by  the  Chapter  of  Trustees,  they 
were  recognized  wherever  they  went  by  the  gray  garb, 
the  white  aprons,  and  snowy  mob  caps  peculiar  to  the 
institution. 

Fashionable  women  patronized  and  fondled  the 
"  Anchorage",  for  much  the  same  reason  that  led  them 
to  pamper  their  pugs ;  and  since  the  Chapter  of  Trus- 


504:  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

tees  consisted  of  men  of  wealth  and  prominence,  their 
wives,  as  magnates  in  le  beau  monde,  set  the  seal  of 
"  style"  upon  articles  manufactured  there,  by  ordering 
quilted  satin  afghans  with  anchors  of  pansies  embroi 
dered  in  the  centre,  for  their  baby  carriages  ;  painted 
tea  gowns ;  favors  for  a  "  German  ",  or  fans  and 
bonbonnieres  for  birthday  parties. 

If  children  of  the  Brahmin  caste  of  millionairdom 
\vere  seized  by  the  Pariah  ills  of  measles,  or  chicken- 
pox,  or  mumps,  it  was  deemed  quite  as  imperatively 
the  duty  of  doting  parents  to  provide  an  "  Anchor 
age  "nurse,  as  to  secure  an  eminent  physician,  and 
the  most  costly  brand  of  condensed  milk.  In  the 
name  of  sweet  charity,  gay  gauzy- winged  butterflies 
of  fashion  harnessed  themselves  in  ropes  of  roses, 
and  dragged  the  car  of  benevolence  ;  as  painted  pap- 
illons  drew  chariots  of  goddesses  on  ancient  classic 
walls  ;  so  in  the  realm  of  social  economy  the  ubiquitous 
law  of  correlation  of  industrial  force — of  conservation 
of  energy — transmuted  the  arrested  labor  of  the  rich 
and  idle  into  the  fostering  heat  that  stimulated  the 
working  poor. 

Scarcely  a  month  previous  to  her  unexpected  re 
lease  from  prison,  Beryl  had  received  a  letter  from 
Doctor  Grantlin,  enclosing  one  addressed  to  "  Sister 
Ruth,  Matron  of  Anchorage".  He  wrote  that  his 
daughter's  health  demanded  some  German  baths ; 
and  on  the  eve  of  sailing,  he  desired  to  secure  for  the 
prisoner  a  temporary  refuge,  should  the  efforts  which 
lie  had  heard  were  made  to  obtain  her  pardon,  prove 
successful.  As  a  nephew  of  the  founder,  and  a  cousin 
f  the  young  lady  for  whom  the  "  Anchorage  "  was  in- 

:uled  as  a  lasting  memorial,  he  had  always  been  ac 
corded  certain  privileges  by  the  trustees  ;  and  the 
letter,  if  presented  to  the  matron,  would  insure  at 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  505 

least  an  entrance  into  the  haven  of  rest,  until  the 
prisoner  could  mature  some  plan  for  her  future. 

Spurred  away  from  X by  the  dread  of  another 

interview  with  the  man  whom  she  had  assiduously 
shunned,  and  of  being  required  to  visit  "Elm  Bluff" 
and  scrutinize  the  accusing  picture,  Beryl  had  shrouded 
herself  in  her  heavy  mourning,  and  fled  from  the 
scene  of  her  suffering,  on  the  3  A.M.  train  Sunday 
morning ;  ten  hours  after  receiving  the  certificate  of  her 
discharge.  Shrinking  from  observation,  she  refused 
Mr.  Singleton  permission  to  accompany  her  to  the 
station  house,  and  bade  him  good-bye  three  squares 
distant;  promising  to  write  soon  to  his  still  absent 
wife,  and  assured  by  him  that  a  farewell  letter  of  af 
fectionate  gratitude  should  be  promptly  delivered  to 
Dyce.  Fortunately  a  stranger  stood  in  the  office  and 
sold  her  a  ticket;  and  in  the  same  corner,  where 
twenty  months  before  she  had  knelt  during  the  storm, 
she  waited  once  more  for  the  sound  of  the  train.  How 
welcome  to  her  the  shuddering  shriek  that  tore  its  way 
through  the  dewy  silence  of  the  star-lit  summer  night, 
and  she  hurried  out,  standing  almost  on  the  rails,  in 
her  impatience  to  depart. 

Several  travellers  were  grouped  near  a  pile  of  lug 
gage  awaiting  the  train,  but  as  it  rolled  swiftly  in  and 
jarred  itself  to  a  standstill,  she  saw  even  through  her 
crape  veil  a  well  known  figure,  leaning  against  an  iron 
post  that  held  an  electric  lamp.  She  sprang  up  the 
steps  leading  to  the  platform,  and  took  the  first 
vacant  seat,  which  was  in  front  of  an  open  window. 

The  silvery  radiance  from  the  globe  just  opposite, 
streamed  in,  and  her  heart  seemed  to  cease  beating  as 
the  tall  form  moved  forward  and  taking  off  his  hat, 
stood  at  the  side  of  the  car.  Neither  spoke.  But 
when  the  brass  bell  rang  its  signal  and  the  train 


606  AT  THE  MERCHT  OF  TIBERIUS. 

trembled  into  motion,  a  hand  was  thrust  in,  and 
dropped  upon  her  lap  a  cluster  of  exquisite  white 
roses,  with  one  scarlet  passion  flower  glowing  in  the 
centre. 

During  the  three  days  spent  in  New  York,  Beryl's 
wounds  bled  afresh,  and  she  felt  even  more  desolate 
than  while  sheltered  behind  prison  walls.  The  six- 
storied  tenement  house  where  she  had  last  seen  her 
mother's  face,  and  kissed  her  in  final  farewell,  had  been 
demolished  to  make  room  for  a  new  furniture  ware 
house.  Strange  nurses  in  the  hospital  could  tell  her 
nothing  concerning  the  last  hours  of  the  beloved  dead ; 
and  the  only  spot  in  the  wide  western  world  that 
seemed  to  belong  to  her,  was  a  narrow  strip  of  ground 
in  a  remote  corner  of  the  great  cemetery,  where  a  green 
mound  held  its  square  granite  slab,  bearing  the  words 
"  Ellice  Darrington  Brentano." 

With  her  face  bowed  upon  that  stone,  the  lonely  wo 
man  had  wept  away  the  long  hours  of  an  afternoon  that 
decided  her  plan  for  the  future. 

Dr.  Grantlin  had  gone  abroad  for  an  indefinite  pe 
riod,  and  no  one  knew  the  contents  of  his  last  letter. 
In  New  York  her  movements  would  be  subject  to  the 
surveillance  she  most  desired  to  escape ;  but  in  that 
distant  city  where  the  "  Anchorage  "  was  situated,  she 
might  disappear,  leaving  no  more  trace  than  that  of  a 
stone  dropped  in  some  stormy,  surging  sea. 

To  find  Bertie  and  reclaim  him,  was  the  only  goal  of 
hope  life  held  for  her,  and  to  accomplish  this,  the  first 
requisite  was  to  effectually  lose  herself. 

Anxious  and  protracted  deliberation  finally  resulted 
in  an  advertisement,  which  she  carried  next  morning  to 
the  "Herald"  office,  to  be  inserted  for  six  months  in  the 
personal  column,  unless  answered. 

"  Bertie,  if  you  want  the  lost  button  we  bought  at 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  507 

Lucca,  when  can  Gigina  hand  it  to  you  in  St.  Cath 
erine's,  Canada  ?" 

She  wore  her  old  blue  bunting  dress,  and  a  faded  blue 
veil  when  she  delivered  the  notice  at  the  office  of  the 
newspaper,  and  paid  in  advance  the  cost  of  its  publica 
tion.  Later  in  the  same  day,  clad  in  her  mourning  gar 
ments,  she  went  down  to  the  Grand  Central  Depot  and 
bought  a  railway  ticket ;  and  the  night  express  bore 
her  away  on  her  long  journey  westward. 

It  was  on  the  fourth  of  July,  her  twenty-first  birth 
day,  that  she  entered  the  reception  room  at  the 
"Anchorage",  and  presented  in  conjunction  with 
Doctor  Grantlin's  letter,  a  copy  of  the  newspaper 
printed  at  X ,  which  contained  an  article  descrip 
tive  of  the  discovery  of  the  picture  on  the  glass  door  ; 
and  expressive  of  the  profound  sympathy  of  the  pub 
lic  for  the  prisoner  so  unjustly  punished  by  incarcera 
tion. 

For  twenty  years  a  resident  of  the  institution,  over 
which  she  had  repeatedly  presided,  Sister  Ruth  was 
now  a  woman  of  fifty-five,  whose  white  hair  shone  be 
neath  her  cap  border  like  a  band  of  spun  silver,  and 
who.se  yellowish,  dim  eyes  seemed  unnaturally  large 
behind  their  spectacles.  Thin  and  wrinkled,  her  face 
was  nobly  redeemed  by  a  remarkably  beautiful,  patient 
mouth ;  and  her  angular,  wiry  figure,  by  small  feet  and 
very  slender  hands,  where  the  veins  rose  like  blue 
cords  lacing  ivory  satin.  Over  the  shoulders  of  her 
gray  flannel  dress  was  worn  the  distinctive  badge  of 
her  office,  a  white  mull  handkerchief  pleated  surplice 
fashion  into  her  girdle,  whence  hung  by  a  silver  chain 
a  set  of  tablets  ;  and  the  folds  of  mull  were  fastened  at 
her  throat  by  a  silver  anchor. 

Having  deliberately  read  letter  and  paper,  she  put 
the  former  in  her  pocket,  and  returned  the  latter  with 


508  AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

a  stately  yet  graceful  inclination  of  the  head,  that 
would  have  been  creditable  in  Mdm.  Recamier's  salon. 

"  I  have  expected  you  for  some  weeks,  an  earlier 
letter  from  Doctor  Grantlin  having  prepared  me  for 
your  arrival ;  but  it  appears  you  have  not  been  released 
from  prison  by  the  pardon  he  anticipated  ?" 

"  No,  madam ;  the  authorities  who  caused  my  arrest 
and  imprisonment,  considered  the  discovery  of  the 
printed  door  a  complete  refutation  of  the  accusation 
against  me,  and  ordered  my  release.  I  come  here  not 
as  a  pardoned  criminal,  but  as  an  unfortunate  victim  of 
circumstantial  evidence ;  acquitted  of  all  suspicion  by 
a  circumstance  even  stranger  than  those  which  seemed 
to  condemn  me.  In  the  darkest  days  of  my  desolation, 
Doctor  Grantlm  believed  me  innocent,  honored  me  with 
his  confidence  and  friendship,  soothed  my  mother's 
dying  hour ;  and  he  will  rejoice  to  learn  that  acquittal 
anticipated  the  mockery  of  a  pardon.  Only  his  gener 
ous  encouragement  emboldened  me  to  hope  for  a  tem 
porary  shelter  here." 

"  Then  you  have  no  desire  to  become  a  permanent 
resident  ?" 

"  At  present,  I  shall  be  grateful  if  allowed  to  enjoy 
the  privilege  of  hiding  my  sore  heart  for  a  while  from 
the  gaze  of  a  world  that  has  cruelly  wronged  me.  I 
want  to  rest  where  wicked  men  and  women  do  not  pol 
lute  the  air,  where  I  can  try  to  forget  the  horrors  of 
convict  life  ;  and  the  rest  I  need  is  not  idleness,  it  is 
labor  of  some  kind  that  will  so  fully  employ  my  hands 
and  brain,  that  when  I  lie  down  at  night  my  sad,  aching 
heart  and  wounded  soul  can  find  balm  in  sleep.  Locked 
at  night  into  a  dark  cell  has  made  existence  for  nearly 
eighteen  months  a  mere  hideous  vigil,  broken  by  fitful 
nightmare.  To  see  only  pure  faces,  to  listen  to  sweet 
feminine  voices  that  never  knew  the  desecration  of 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  509 

blasphemy,  to  exchange  the  grim,  fetid  precincts  of  a 
penitentiary  for  a  holy  haven  such  as  this,  is  indeed  a 
glimpse  of  paradise  to  a  tortured  spirit." 

"  Have  you  special  reasons  for  wishing  to  shun 
observation  ?" 

The  dim  eyes  probed  like  some  dull  blade  that  tears 
the  tissues. 

"  Yes,  madam,  special  cause  to  want  to  be  forgotten 
by  the  public,  who  have  stared  me  at  times  almost  to 
frenzy." 

"  You  are  an  orphan,  I  am  told ;  with  no  living  rela 
tives  in  America." 

"I  am  an  orphan;  and  think  I  have  no  relative  in 
the  United  States." 

"In  the  very  peculiar  circumstances  that  surround  and 
isolate  you,  I  should  imagine  you  would  esteem  it  a 
great  privilege  to  cast  your  lot  here,  and  become  one 
of  the  permanently  located  Sisters  of  the  < Anchorage'. 
Ours  is  a  noble  and  consecrated  mission." 

' '  Knowing  literally  nothing  of  your  institution,  ex 
cept  that  it  is  a  hive  of  industrious  good  women,  offer 
ing  a  home  and  honest  work  to  homeless  and  innocent 
unfortunates,  I  could  not  pledge  myself  to  a  life  which 
might  not  prove  suitable  on  closer  acquaintance.  Take 
me  in  ;  give  me  employment  that  will  prevent  me  from 
being  a  tax  upon  your  hospitality,  and  mercifully  shel 
ter  me  from  pitiless  curiosity  and  gossip." 

"  Even  were  our  sympathies  not  enlisted  in  your 
behalf,  Doctor  Grantlin's  request  would  insure  your 
admission,  at  least  for  a  season.  Where  is  your  lug 
gage  ?" 

"  I  have  only  a  trunk,  for  which  I  have  retained  the 
railway  check,  until  I  ascertained  your  willingness  to 
receive  me." 

"  Give  it  to  me." 


510  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

She  crossed  the  room  and  pressed  the  knob  of  a  bell 
on  the  opposite  wall.  Almost  simultaneously  a  door 
opened,  and  to  a  stout,  middle-aged  woman  who  ap 
peared  on  the  threshold,  the  matron  gave  instructions 
in  an  under  tone. 

Returning  to  the  stranger,  she  resumed : 

"  I  infer  from  the  Doctor's  letter,  that  you  are  a 
gifted  person.  In  what  lines  do  your  talents  run  ?" 

"  Perhaps  I  should  not  lay  claim  to  talent,  but  I  am, 
by  grace  of  study,  a  good  musician ;  and  I  draw  and 
paint,  at  least  with  facility.  At  one  time  I  supported 
my  mother  and  myself  by  singing  in  a  choir,  but  diph 
theria  closed  that  avenue  of  work.  With  the  restora 
tion  of  health,  I  think  I  have  recovered  my  voice.  I 
am  an  expert  needle  woman,  and  can  embroider  well, 
especially  on  fine  linen." 

"  Do  you  feel  competent  to  teach  a  class  in  '  water 
color',  in  our  Art  School  ?  Our  aquarelle  Sister  is 
threatened  with  amaurosis,  and  the  oculist  prohibits 
all  work  at  present." 

< '  You  can  form  an  opinion  of  my  qualifications  by 
examining  some  sketches  which  are  in  my  trunk.  I 
have  furnished  several  designs  for  the  ( Society  of 
Decorative  Art',  and  have  sold  a  number  of  painted 
irticles  at  the  Woman's  Exchange." 

' '  Then  I  think  you  have  only  to  step  into  a  vacant 
niche,  and  supply  a  need  which  was  beginning  to  per 
plex  us.  During  the  latter  part  of  September,  an  In 
ternational  Scientific  Congress  will  be  held  in  this  city, 
and  one  of  our  patrons,  Mr.  Brompton,  who  expects  to 
entertain  the  distinguished  foreign  delegates,  has  given 
us  an  order  for  dinner  cards  for  eight  courses,  and  each 
set  for  twenty-four  covers.  As  nearly  as  we  can  com 
prehend  the  design,  his  intention  is  to  represent  the 
order  of  creation  in  fish,  game,  fruits  and  flowers ;  and 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  511 

each  card  will  illustrate  some  special  era  in  geology  and 
zoology.  The  cream  and  ices  set  are  expected  to  show 
the  history  of  Polar  regions  as  far  as  known,  and  at 
the  conclusion  of  the  banquet,  each  guest  will  be  pre 
sented  with  a  velvet  smoking  cap,  to  which  must  be 
attached  a  card  representing  '  scientific  soap-bubbles 
pricked  by  the  last  scientists'  junta'.  Now  while  the 
'Anchorage's'  cultured  art  standard  claims  to  be  as 
high  as  any,  East,  we  should  scarcely  venture  to  fill  this 
order,  had  not  two  of  the  professors  in  our  University, 
promised  to  map  out  the  order,  and  furnish  some  dots 
in  the  way  of  engravings,  which  will  aid  the  accom 
plishment  of  the  work  ;  and  we  are  particularly  desir 
ous  of  pleasing  our  patron,  from  whom  the  '  Anchorage' 
expects  a  bequest.  If  you  think  you  can  successfully 
undertake  a  portion  of  this  order,  given  us  by  Mr. 
Brompton,  we  shall  make  you  doubly  welcome." 

"  I  think  I  may  safely  promise  satisfactory  work  in 
the  line  you  designate ;  and  at  least,  I  shall  be  grate 
ful  for  the  privilege  of  making  the  attempt." 

"  You  are  aware,  I  presume,  that  all  inmates  of  the 
'Anchorage '  are  required  to  wear  its  regulation  uni 
form." 

"  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  don  it ;  hoping  it  may  pos 
sess  some  spell  to  exorcise  memories  of  the  last  uniform 
I  wore ;  the  blue  homespun  of  penitentiary  convicts." 

"  You  must  try  to  forget  all  that.  The  'Anchorage  ' 
gates  shut  fast  on  the  former  lives  we  led  ;  here  we 
dwell  in  a  busy  present,  hoping  to  secure  a  blessed 
future.  Come  with  me  to  the  cutting  room,  and  be 
measured  for  your  flannel  uniform;  then  one  of  the 
Sisters  will  show  you  to  your  own  cell  in  this  conse 
crated  bee-hive,  which  you  will  find  as  peaceful  as  its 
name  implies." 

The  first  story  contained  the  reception  rooms,  chapel, 


512  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

schoolroom,  apartments  for  the  display  of  sample  ar 
ticles  manufactured  ;  the  refectory,  kitchen  and  laun 
dry;  and  one  low  wide  room  with  glass  on  three 
sides,  where  orchids  and  carnations,  the  floral  special 
ties  of  the  institution,  were  grown.  On  the  second 
floor  were  various  workrooms,  supplied  with  materials 
required  for  the  particular  fabric  therein  manufactured 
or  ornamented';  and  cut  off  from  communication, 
was  the  east  wing,  used  exclusively  as  an  infirmary, 
and  provided  with  its  separate  kitchen  and  laundry. 
The  third  story  embraced  the  dormitory,  a  broad, 
lofty  apartment  divided  by  carved  scroll  work  and 
snowy  curtains,  into  three  sets  of  alcoves  running 
the  entire  length  of  the  floor;  separated  by  car 
peted  aisles,  and  containing  all  the  articles  of  fur 
niture  needed  by  each  occupant.  On  the  ceiling  di 
rectly  over  every  bed,  was  inscribed  in  gilt  letters, 
some  text  from  the  Bible,  exhorting  to  patience,  dili 
gence,  frugality,  humility,  gentleness,  obedience,  cheer 
fulness,  honesty,  truthfulness  and  purity  ;  and  mid-way 
the  central  aisle,  where  a  chandelier  swung,  two  steps 
led  to  a  raised  desk,  whence  at  night  issued  the  voice 
of  the  reader,  who  made  audible  to  all  the  occupants 
the  selected  chapter  in  the  Bible.  At  ten  o'clock  a 
bell  was  rung  by  the  Sister  upon  whom  devolved  the 
duty  of  acting  as  night  watch ;  then  lights  were  ex 
tinguished  save  in  the  infirmary.  This  common  dor 
mitory  was  reserved  for  Sisters  who  had  spent  at  least 
five  years  in  the  building;  and  to  probationers  were 
given  small  rooms  on  the  second  story  of  the  west  wing. 
The  third  story  of  the  same  wing  fronted  north,  and 
served  as  a  studio  where  all  designs  were  drawn  and 
painted ;  and  upon  its  walls  hung  pictures  in  oil  and 
water  color,  engravings,  vignettes,  and  all  the  artistic 
odds  and  ends  given  or  lent  by  sympathetic  patrons. 


.AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  513 

Each  story  was  supplied  with  bath-rooms,  and  the 
entire  work  of  the  various  departments  was  performed 
by  the  appointed  corps  of  inmates ;  the  Sisters  of  the 
wash  tub,  and  of  the  broom  brigade,  being  selected  for 
the  work  best  adapted  to  their  physical  and  intellectual 
development. 

Visitors  lingered  longest  in  the  great  kitchen  with  its 
arched  recess  where  the  range  was  fitted  ;  where  like 
organ  pipes  glittering  copper  boilers  rose,  and 
burnished  copper  measures  and  buckets  glinted  on 
the  carved  shelves  running  along  one  side.  The  ad« 
joining  pastry  room  was  tiled  with  stone,  furnished 
with  counters  covered  with  marble  slabs,  and  with  re 
frigerators  built  into  the  wall;  and  here  the  white- 
capped,  white-aproned  priestesses  of  pots,  pans  and 
pestles  moved  quietly  to  and  fro,  performing  the  labor, 
upon  which  depended  in  great  degree  the  usefulness  of 
artificers  in  all  other  departments. 

The  refectory  opened  on  a  narrow  terrace  at  the  rear 
of  the  building,  which  was  sodded  with  turf  and  starred 
with  pansies  and  ox-eyed  daisies,  and  on  the  wide,  stone 
window  sills  sat  boxes  and  vases  filled  with  maiden-hair 
ferns  and  oxalis,  with  heliotrope  and  double  white  vio 
lets.  Three  lines  of  tables  ran  down  this  bright  pretty 
room,  and  in  the  centre  rose  a  spiral  stair  to  a  cush 
ioned  seat,  where  when  "  Grace"  had  been  pronounced, 
the  Reader  for  the  day  made  selections  from  such  vol- 
lumes  of  prose  or  poetry  as  were  deemed  by  the 
Matron  elevating  and  purifying  in  influence ;  tonic 
for  the  soul,  stimulant  for  the  brain,  balm  for  the 
heart. 

Close  to  the  rear  wall  overhanging  the  lake,  ran  a 
treillage  of  grape  vines,  and  on  the  small  grass  sown 
plot  of  garden,  belated  poeonies  tossed  up  their  brilliant 
balls,  as  playthings  for  the  wind  that  swept  over  the 


514  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

blue  waves,  breaking  into  a  fringe  of  foam  beyond  the 
stone  enclosure. 

Except  at  meals,  and  during  the  last  half  hour  in  the 
dormitory,  night  and  morning,  no  restriction  of  silence 
was  imposed,  and  one  hour  was  set  apart  at  noon  for 
merely  social  intercourse,  or  any  individual  scheme  ol 
labor.  Busy,  tranquil,  cheerful,  often  merry,  they  en 
deavored  to  eschew  evil  thoughts  ;  and  cultivated  that 
rare  charity  which  makes  each  tolerant  of  the  failings 
of  the  other,  which  broadens  a  sympathy  that  can 
excuse  individual  differences  of  opinion,  and  that  conse 
crates  the  harmony  of  true  home  life. 

The  room  assigned  to  Beryl  was  at  the  extremity  of 
the  second  story,  just  beneath  the  studio ;  and  as  the 
north  end  of  the  wings  was  built  at  each  corner  into 
projections  that  were  crowned  with  bell  towers,  this 
apartment  had  a  circular  oriel  window,  swung  like 
a  basket  from  the  wall,  and  guarded  by  an  iron 
balcony.  Cool,  quiet,  restful  as  an  oratory  seemed 
the  nest ;  with  its  floor  covered  by  matting  diapered 
hi  blue,  its  low,  wide  bedstead  of  curled  maple,  with 
snowy  Marseilles  quilt,  and  crisply  fluted  pillow  cases  ; 
its  book  shelves  hanging  on  the  wall,  surmounted  by  a 
copy  in  oil  of  Angelico's  Elizabeth  of  Hungary,  with 
rapt  face  upraised  as  she  lifted  her  rose-laden  skirt. 

The  lambrequins  of  blue  canton  flannel  were  border 
ed  with  trailing  convolvulus  in  pink  cretonne,  and  the 
diaphanous  folds  of  white  muslin  curtains  held  in 
the  centre  an  embroidered  anchor  which  dragged  in 
ward,  as  the  breeze  rushed  in  through  open  windows. 
An  arched  recess  in  the  wall,  whence  a  door  commun 
icated  with  the  adjoining  chamber,  was  concealed  by  a 
portiere  of  blue  that  matched  the  lambrequins,  and 
the  alcove  served  as  a  miniature  dressing-room,  where 
the  brass  faucet  emptied  into  a  marble  baein, 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  51 K 

In  this  apartment  the  imperial  sway  of  dull  maroons, 
sullen  Pompeiian  reds,  and  sombre  murky  olives  had 
never  cast  encroaching  shadows  upon  the  dainty  bright 
ness  of  tender  rose  and  blue,  nor  toned  down  the  silvery 
reflection  of  the  great  sea  of  waters  that  flashed  under 
the  sunshine  like  some  vast  shifting  mirror. 

Travel-worn  and  very  weary,  Beryl  sat  down  by  the 
window  and  looked  out  over  the  lake,  that  far  as  the 
eye  could  reach,  lifted  its  sparkling  bosom  to  the 
cloudless  dim  blue  of  heaven,  effacing  the  sky  line  ; 
dotted  with  sails  like  huge  white  butterflies,  etched 
here  and  there  with  spectral,  shadowy  ship  masts,  over 
flown  by  gray  gulls  burnished  into  the  likeness  of  Zo- 
phiels'  pinions,  as  their  wings  swiftly  dipped. 

Driven  by  storms  of  adversity  away  from  the  busy 
world  of  her  earlier  youth,  leaving  the  wrack  of  hopes 
behind,  she  had  drifted  on  the  chartless  current  of  fate 
into  this  Umilta  Sisterhood,  this  latter  day  Beguinage; 
where,  provided  with  work  that  would  furnish  her  daily 
bread,  she  could  hide  her  proud  head  without  a  sense 
of  shame.  Doctor  Grantlin,  in  compliance  with  her 
request,  would  keep  the  secret  of  her  retreat;  and 
surely  here  she  might  escape  forever  the  scrutiny  and 
the  dangerous  magnetism  of  the  man  who  had  irre 
trievably  marred  her  fair,  ambitious  youth. 

To-day,  twenty-one,  full  statured  in  womanhood, 
prematurely  scorched  and  scarred  hi  spirit  by  fierce 
ordeals,  she  saw  the  pale  ghost  of  her  girlhood  flitting 
away  amid  the  ruins  of  the  past;  and  knew  that 
instead  of  making  the  voyage  of  life  under  silken  sails 
gilded  with  the  light,  and  fanned  by  the  breath  of  love 
and  happiness,  she  had  been  swept  under  black  skies 
before  a  howling  hurricane,  into  an  unexpected  port, — 
where,  lashed  to  the  deck  with  "  torn  strips  of  hope  ", 
she  had  finally  moored  a  strained,  dismasted  barque  in 


516  AT   THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

the  "Anchorage",  whence  with  swelling-  canvas  and 
flying  pennons  no  ships  ever  went  forth. 

A  rush  of  grateful  tears  filled  her  tired  eyes,  and 
soothed  by  the  consciousness  of  an  inviolable  security, 
her  trembling  lips  moved  in  a  prayer  of  thankfulness 
to  God,  upon  whom  she  had  stayed  her  tortured  soul, 
grappling  it  to  the  blessed  promise:  "  Lo,  I  am  with 
you  always.  I  will  never  leave  you  nor  forsake  you." 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

u  TITHY  deny  it,  Leo  ?  Let  us  at  least  be  frankly 
*  *  realistic,  and  '  call  a  spade  a  spade  '  when  we 
set  ourselves  to  dig  ditches,  draining  the  stagnant  pools 
of  life.  Each  human  being  has  a  special  goal  toward 
which  he  or  she  strains,  with  nineteen  chances  out  of 
twenty  against  reaching  it  in  time;  and  if  it  be  won,  is 
it  worth  the  race  ?  With  some  of  us  it  is  love,  ambi 
tion,  mundane  prosperity;  with  others,  intellectual  su 
premacy,  moral  perfection,  exalted  spirituality,  sub 
limated  altruism;  but  after  all,  in  the  final  analysis,  it 
is  only  hedonism !  Each  struggles  with  teeth  and 
claws  for  that  which  gives  the  largest  promise  of 
pleasure  to  body,  mind,  or  soul,  as  the  individual  hap 
pens  to  incline.  To  Sybarites  the  race  is  too  short  to 
be  fatiguing,  and  the  goal  is  only  an  ambuscade  for 
satiety  and  ennui ;  to  ascetics,  the  race  course  stretches 
to  the  borders  of  futurity,  but  even  for  them  one  form 
of  pleasure,  spiritual  pleasure,  lights  up  eternity.  The 
thing  we  want,  we  want;  not  because  of  its  orthodoxy, 
or  its  excellency  or  beauty  per  se-,  we  want  it  because 
it  gratifies  some  idiosyncratic  craving-  of  our  three-fold 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  517 

natures.  The  good  things  of  this  world  are  very 
adroitly  and  ingeniously  labelled,  but  we  rummage  in 
the  bonbonniere  for  a  certain  marron  glace,  and  if  it 
be  not  there,  all  the  caramels  in  Venice,  all  the  '  gluko ' 
in  Greece,  all  the  rahatlicum  in  Turkey  will  not  ap 
pease  us." 

With  her  arms  thrown  back,  and  clasped  around  the 
satin  cushion  crushed  against  her  head  and  shoulders, 
Miss  Cutting  lay  on  a  red  plush  divan  in  her  father's 
picture  gallery  at  home ;  and  the  swathing  folds  of  a 
topaz-hued  surah  gown  embroidered  with  scarlet  pop 
pies  half  concealed  the  feet  that  beat  a  tattoo  on  the 
polished  oak  floor. 

"  Then  you  have  missed  your  marron  glace?" 
answered  Leo,  turning  from  the  contemplation  of  a  new 
picture  which  Mr.  Cutting  had  recently  added  to  his 
collection. 

"Of  course.  Do  not  all  of  us  sooner  or  later  ?  Where 
is  yours  ?  Safe  under  lock  and  key,  or  hanging  on 
some  crag,  ripening  for  the  confectioner ;  or  filched 
by  some  stealthy  white  hand,  devoured  by  some 
eager  lips  that  smile  derisively  at  you  while  they 
nibble  ?" 

From  beneath  drooping  lids,  Alma's  oblique  glance 
noted  the  result  of  her  Scipio  Africanus'  tactics. 

"  Alma,  too  intemperate  and  prolonged  diet  of  sweets 
has  ruined  your  digestion;  has  rendered  you  an  ethical 
dyspeptic.  A  surfeit  of  sugar  betrays  itself  in  fer 
mentation,  and  you  have  reached  the  stage  of  moral 
acidulation." 

"  Ah,  don't  drift  into  homiletics  !  I  see  your  marron 
urrows  hard  by  the  vineyard  where  sour  grapes  flourish. 
Loo,  I  am  not  so  serenely  proud  as  you,  but  a  trille 
more  honest,  and  I  have  cried  for  my  bonbon,  never 
iloutiug  its  delicious  flavor  ;  hence,  when  I  am  ordered 


518  .AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

back  to  boiled  milk  and  oatmeal,  I  make  no  feint  to 
disguise  my  wry  faces." 

Alma's  low,  teasing  laugh  stung  like  some  persistent 
buzzing  insect,  and  a  slight  flush  tinged  her  com 
panion's  cheek  as  she  replied : 

"  Why  plunge  to  the  opposite  extreme  ?  You  will 
starve  on  that  porridge  you  are  desperately  preparing 
for  yourself." 

"  What  else  remains  ?  This  world  is  a  huge  bazaar, 
a  big  church  fair,  and  like  other  eager-eyed  children  1 
promptly  set  my  heart  on  the  great  *  bisc  '  doll  with  its 
head  turning  coquettishly  from  side  to  side,  singing 
snatches  from  '  La  Grande  Duchesse  ',  and  clad  like 
Sheba's  queen  !  I  stake  all  my  pennies  on  a  chance  in 
the  raffle,  which  has  a  '  consolation  prize  '  hidden  away 
from  vulgar  gaze.  By  and  by  the  dice  rattle,  and 
over  my  head,  quite  out  of  my  reach,  is  borne  the 
coveted  beauty  (owned  now  by  a  girl  I  know),  bowing 
and  singing  to  the  new  owner,  who  exultantly  exhibits 
her  as  she  departs;  and  into  my  outstretched  arms 
falls  something  hideous  enough  to  play  Medusa  in  a 
tableau,  a  rag  baby  with  grinning  Senegambian  lips, 
rayless  owlish  eyes,  and  a  concave  nose  whose  nostrils 
suggest  the  Catacombs  !  Bitter  rage  and  murderous 
fury  possess  me,  but  I  am  much  too  wise  to  show  my 
tempers  at  the  fair ;  so  I  hug  my  '  consolation  prize ', 
and  get  away  as  fast  as  possible  with  my  treasure,  and 
once  safe  from  observation,  box,  deride,  trample  upon 
it,  and  toss  it  into  the  garret  as  suitable  prey  for  dust, 
cobwebs  and  mildew  !  After  a  time,  the  keenness  of 
the  disappointment  dulls,  like  all  other  human  aches 
that  do  not  kill,  and  by  degrees  I  think  less  vindictively 
of  the  despised  substitute.  Finally  comes  a  day,  when 
all  else  failing  to  amuse  me,  I  creep  sheepishly  into  the 
attic  and  pick  up  the  rejected,  and  persuade  myself  it 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  519 

is  at  least  better  than  no  doll  at  all,  and  forthwith 
adorn  it  with  rag's  of  finery ;  but  the  echoes  of  *  La 
Grande  Duchesse '  will  always  ring-  in  my  ears,  and 
through  the  halo  of  tears  I  see  ever  and  anon  the  prize 
beauty  that  was  withheld.  The  two-edg>ed  sword  in 
the  diablerie  of  fate  is,  that  we  are  ordained  to  fret 
after  '  bisc,'  when  stuffed  rags  have  been  meted  out 
as  our  share  of  the  fair." 

Leo  drew  a  chair  near  the  divan  and  seated  herself ; 
looking  steadily  into  the  velvety  black  eyes  that  instead 
of  betraying  hid,  like  a  domino,  the  soul  of  their  owner. 

"  Alma,  better  cross  empty  arms  forever  over  empty 
heart,  than  mock  your  womanhood  by  acceptance  of  a 
'  consolation  prize  V 

"  We  all  say  that  the  day  after  the  fair ;  but  wait  a 
few  years  as  I  have  done  ;  and  like  aJl  your  sisters  in 
the  ranks  of  the  disappointed,  you  will  ultimately  crawl 
back  to  the  attic  and  kiss  the  thick  lips,  and  try  to 
persuade  yourself  the  nose  is  not  so  formidable,  though 
certainly  a  trifle  less  classic  than  Antinous's  !  We  set 
out  with  our  eyes  fixed  on  Vega,  blazing  above,  and 
flaunt  our  banner — '  tout  ou  rien  !' — but  when  the  cam 
paign  ends,  Vega  laughs  at  us  from  the  horizon,  quit 
ting  our  world ;  and  we  console  ourselves  with  a  rush 
light,  and  shelter  it  carefully  from  the  wind  with  an 
other  flag;  '  Quand  on  n^a  pas  ce  qu'on  aime,  il  faut 
inner  ce  qu'on  a/'  Such  is  the  worldly  wisdom  that 
comes  with  ripening  years,  like  the  deep  stain  on  the 
sunny  side  of  a  peach.  Moreover,  '  folding  empty 
arms/  is  only  melodrama  metaphor,  and  '  empty 
hearts  '  are,  begging  your  pardon,  only  figments  of 
romantic  brains.  Our  hearts  aren't  empty,  more's  the 
pity  !  They  hold  deep,  deep,  the  image  of  Vega,  and 
the  flare  of  the  tallow  candle  on  the  surface  serves  as 
cross  lights  to  dazzle  the  world,  and  help  us  to  hide  the 


520  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

reflection  of  our  star.  I  saw  that  metaphor  in  some 
novel,  and  recognize  its  truth.  Do  you,  my  princess  ?" 

"  I  will  never  so  utterly  degrade  myself.  I  could 
neither  lower  my  standard,  nor  sacrifice  my  ideal,"  said 
Leo,  with  a  touch  of  scorn  in  her  usually  gentle  voice. 

"  You  prefer  that  your  ideal  should  sacrifice  you? 
One  enjoys  for  a  season  the  wide  expanse  visible  from 
that  lofty  emotional  pinnacle ;  but  the  atmosphere  is 
too  rarefied,  and  we  gladly  descend  to  the  warm,  denser 
air  of  the  plains  of  common  sense  selfishness.  If  it  be 
lowering  your  standard  to  become  the  wife  of  a  bishop 
(the  youngest  ever  ordainod  in  his  State),  clothed  with 
the  double  distilled  odors  of  sanctity  and  popularity, 
then  heaven  help  your  standard,  which  only  heaven 
can  fitly  house." 

' '  Since  you  persist  in  assuming  that  so  flattering  an 
offer  has  been  made  me,  I  will  set  this  subject  at  rest, 
by  a  final  assurance  that  even  were  your  surmise  cor 
rect,  I  could  never  under  any  imaginable  circumstan 
ces  marry  my  cousin,  Bishop  Douglass.  Although  I 
trust  and  reverence  him  beyond  all  other  men,  '  I  love 
my  cousin  cousinly,  no  more,'  and  he  is  too  much  ab 
sorbed  by  his  holy  office  and  its  solemn  responsibilities, 
to  waste  thought  on  the  frail,  sweet,  rosy  garland  of  any 
woman's  love.  Fret  yourself  no  longer  in  casting 
matrimonial  horoscopes  forme." 

The  flushed  cheeks,  and  a  certain  icy  curtness  in 
Leo's  tone,  warned  her  companion  that  she  was  rashly 
invading  sacred  precincts. 

"  Eight  years  ago  I  made  the  solemn  asseveration 
fchat  I  would  never  marry  ;  and  I  ran  as  a  raw  recruit 
-•o  swell  the  army  of  foolish  virgins  who  lost  all  the 
wedding  splendors,  the  hypothetical  *  cakes  and  ale', 
for  want  of  the  oil  of  worldly  wisdom.  Now  I  am 
thirty-three,  and  my  lamp  is  filled  to  the  brim,  and 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  521 

the  bridegroom  is  in  sight.  Why  not  ?  Adverse 
weather,  rain,  rust  and  mildew  spoiled  my  beautiful 
golden  harvest  ten  years  ago,  but  aftermath  is  better 
than  bare  stubble  fields,  and  though  you  miss  the  song 
of  the  reapers,  you  escape  starvation.  Deny  it  as  we 
may,  we  are  hopelessly  given  over  to  fetichism,  and 
each  one  of  us  ties  around  her  stone  image  some  be 
guiling  orthodox  label.  Leo,  yours  is  pride,  masquer 
ading  in  the  dun  garb  of  '  religious  duty '.  Mine  is  self- 
love,  pure  and  simple,  the  worldly  weal  of  Alma  Cutting ; 
but  nominally  it  is  dubbed  '  grateful  requital  of  a  life 
of  devotion '  in  my  lover !  You  grieve  over  my  heart- 
lessness  ?  That  is  the  one  compensation  time  brings, 
when  men  and  women  have  killed  the  best  in  our  na 
tures.  Teeth  ache  fiercely ;  then  the  nerve  dies,  and 
we  have  surcease  from  pain,  and  find  comfort  in  know 
ing  that  the  darkening  wreck  can  throb  no  more. 
There  was  a  time  when  the  pangs  of  Prometheus  seemed 
only  pastime  to  mine,  but  all  things  end ;  and  now  I 
get  on  as  comfortably  without  a  heart,  as  the  victims 
of  vivisection — the  frogs,  and  guinea  pigs,  and  rabbits 
—do  without  their  brains." 

"  I  do  indeed  grieve  over  the  fatal  step  you  contem 
plate  ;  I  grieve  over  your  un womanliness  in  marrying  a 
man  whom  you  do  not  even  pretend  to  love ;  and  some 
terrible  penalty  will  avenge  the  outrage  against  femi 
nine  nature.  Some  day  your  heart  will  stir  in  its  cold 
torpor,  and  then  all  Dante's  visions  of  horror,  will  be 
come  your  realities,  scourging  you  down  to  despair." 

"Because  'Farleigh  Court'  may  lie  dangerously 
close  to  *  Denzil  Place '  ?  Be  easy,  Leo ;  the  cold  re 
mains  of  my  ossified  affection  will  lie  in  as  decorous  re 
pose  as  the  harmless  ash  heaps  of  some  long  buried 
damosel  of  the  era  of  Lars  Porsenna,  dug  out  of  Vulci 
or  Chiusi.  To  make  a  safe  and  brilliant  marriage  is 


522  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

the  acme  of  social  success.  What  else  does  the  world 
to  which  I  belong,  offer  me  now  ?" 

1 '  There  remains  always,  Alma,  the  alternative  of 
listening  to  the  instinctive  monitors  God  set  to  watch 
in  every  woman's  nature  ;  and  we  have  the  precious 
and  inalienable  privilege  of  being  true  to  ourselves. 
Better  mourn  your  '  bisc '  than  stoop  to  a  lower  subst  i- 
tute.  Be  loyal  to  yourself,  be  true  to  your  own  heart. ' ' 

"  I  know  myself  rather  too  intimately  to  offer  a  tri 
bute  of  admiration  on  the  altar  of  ego  ;  and  I  prefer  to 
mako  the  experiment  of  trying  to  be  true  and  loyal  to 
some  one  else,  with  whose  imperfections  I  am  not  so 
well  acquainted.  When  you  meet  your  adorable 
'bisc '  in  society,  with  a  wife  hanging  on  his  arm, — 
when  as  paterfamilias  he  convoys  his  flock  of  small  chil 
dren  who  tread  on  your  toes  at  the  chrysanthemum 
shows,  what  then  ?  The  world,  my  world,  is  gener 
ously  and  munificently  lax,  and  though  the  limits  of 
respectable  endurance  may  be  as  hard  to  find  as  the 
( fourth  dimension  of  space',  or  the  authenticity  of  the 
<  Book  of  Jasher',  still  for  decency's  sake  we  submit 
there  are  limits  of  decorum ;  certain  proprietorial 
domains  upon  which  we  may  not  openly  poach  ;  and 
meum  et  tuum  though  moribund,  is  not  yet  num 
bered  with  belief  in  the  '  grail'.  Female  emancipation 
is  not  quite  complete  even  in  America,  and  noblesse 
oblige  !  our  code  still  reads  :  '  Zeus  has  unquestioned 
right  to  lo;  but  woe  betide  lo  when  she  suns  her 
heart  in  the  smiles  that  belong  to  Hera!'  Some 
women  find  exhilaration  hi  the  effort  to  excel,  by  flying 
closest  to  the  flame  without  singeing  their  satin  wings ; 
by  executing  a  pirouette  on  the  extremest  ledge 
of  the  abyss,  yet  escape  toppling  in ;  female  Blondins 
skipping  across  the  tight  rope  of  Platonic  friendship, 
stretched  above  the  unmentionable.  You  are  shocked?" 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  523 

"  Indeed,  I  am  pained.  I  can  scarcely  recognize 
the  Alma  of  old." 

"  Wait  one  moment,  I  have  the  floor.  In  the  days 
when  I  wept  for  my— shall  I  say  '  bisc  '  ?  (for  imper 
sonality  is  hedged  about  with  safety),  and  the  con 
solation  prize  had  not  yet  been  invited  to  come  back 
from  Coventry,  a  funny  trifle  set  me  to  thinking 
seriously  of  my  sin  of  covetousness.  One  summer  at 
a  certain  fashionable  resort,  let  us  call  it  villeggi- 
atura  of  the  Lepidoptera,  the  amusement  programme 
had  reached  the  last  act,  and  people  yawned  for  some 
thing  new,  when  '  sweet  charity '  came  to  the  rescue, 
and  proposed  an  entertainment  to  raise  funds  for  en 
larging  an  ecclesiastical  '  Columbary '  where  aged, 
unsightly  and  repentant  doves  might  moult,  and  renew 
their  plumage.  Musical,  dramatic,  poetic  recitations, 
and  tableaux  vivants  constituted  the  method  of  collect 
ing  the  money,  and  the  selections  would  have  made 
Rabelais  chuckle.  We  had  the  most  flagitiously  erotic 
passages  (rendered  in  costume)  from  opera  and  opera 
bouffe,  living  reproductions  of  the  tragic  pose  of 
Paolo  and  Francesca  that  would  have  inspired  Caba- 
nel  anew  ;  of  '  Ginevra  Da  Siena, '  of  '  Vivien, ' — a  car 
nival  of  the  carnal !  where  nurseries  were  robbed  to 
supply  the  mimic  ballet,  and  where  bald-headed  clergy 
man,  and  white-haired  mothers  in  Israel  clapped  and 
encored.  One  fair  forsaken  dame,  whose  indignant 
spouse  was  seeking  a  divorce,  came  to  the  footlights 
in  an  artistic  garment  so  decollete  that  a  man  sitting 
behind  me  whispered  to  his  friend  :  ( What  pictures 
Iocs  she  suggest  to  you  ?  "  Phryne  before  the 
Judges" — or  Long's  "Thisbe?"  She  languorously 
waved  a  floral  fan  of  crimson  carnations,  and  recited 
with  all  of  Siddons'  grace  and  Rachel's  fire  selections 


524  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

from  a  book  of  poems,  that  were  so  many  dynamite 
bombs  of  vice  smothered  in  roses.  Amid  tumultuous 
applause,  she  gave  as  encore  something  that 
contained  a  fragment  of  Feydeau,  and  its  closing 
words  woke  up  my  drowsy  soul,  like  a  clap  of 
thunder :  '  Ce  que  les  poetes  appellent  V amour, 
et  les  moralistes  Vadultere  I '  Leo,  there  is  a  moral 
somnambulism  more  frightful  than  that  which  leads 
to  midnight  promenades  on  the  combs  of  roofs,  and 
the  borders  of  Goat  Island  ;  so  I  wiped  my  tears 
away,  and  after  that  day,  began  to  read  the  billet 
doux  and  wear  the  flowers  of  my  'consolation  prize'. 

"  You  do  not  love  him,  and  your  marriage  will  de 
grade  you  in  your  own  estimation.  Your  bridal  vows 
will  be  perjury,  an  insult  to  your  God,  and  a  foul  ter 
rible  wrong  against  the  man  who  trusts  your  truthful 
ness.  According  to  our  church,  wedlock  is  a  '  holy  or 
dinance';  and  to  me  an  unloving  wife  is  unhallowed ; 
is  a  blot  on  her  sex,  only  a  few  degrees  removed  from 
unmarried  mothers.  You  know  the  difference  between 
friendship  and  love,  and  when  you  go  to  the  altar,  and 
give  the  former  in  exchange  for  the  latter,  the  base 
counterfeit  for  the  true  gold,  you  are  consciously  and 
premeditatedly  dishonest." 

"  Thanks,  for  your  clearness  of  diction,  your  perspic 
uity  which  leaves  no  cobweb  of  misty  doubt  where 
with  to  drape  my  shivering  moral  deformity  !  To  '  see 
ourselves  as  others  see  us '  is  as  disappointing  as  the 
result  of  plunging  one's  hand  into  the  'grab-bag',  but  at 
1  east  it  brings  the  stimulating  tingle  of  a  new  sensa- 
iion.  Suppose  each  knows  perfectly  well  that  as  re 
gards  the  true  gold,  both  are  equally  bankrupt  ?  There 
is  a  queer  moral  fungus  called  '  honesty  among  thieves', 
and  we  both  know  that  we  never  sang  snatches  from 
Offenbach  to  each  other,  through  pink  'bisc'  lips. 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  525 

Ho  loved  quite  desperately  a  mignonne  of  a  blonde, 
tvith  heavenly  blue  eyes  and  cherubic  yellow  hair,  who, 
Qot  knowing  his  expectations  from  a  California  uncle, 
jilted  him  for  a  rich  Cuban.  Look  you,  Leo,  because 
I  cannot  wear  Kohinoor,  must  I  disport  myself  with 
out  any  diamond  necklace  ?  Since  he  can  never  own 
<  La  Peregrina,'  must  he  eschew  pearl  studs  in  his  shield 
front?  We  distinctly  understand  that  we  are  not 
fiist  prizes;  but  perhaps  we  may  be  something 
better  than  total  blanks  in  the  lottery,  even  though  we 
quite  realize  the  difference  between  love  and  friendship. 
Do  you  ?  Portia  should  know  every  jot  and  tittle  of 
the  law,  and  all  the  subtle  shades  of  evidence,  before 
she  lifts  her  voice  in  court. " 

Alma  pushed  away  her  cushion,  sat  upright,  and 
the  slumbering  fire  flashed  up  under  her  jet  lashes. 

"  If  I  do,  that  knowledge  which  earlier  or  later 
comes  to  all  women,  is  certainly  linked  with  the  com 
forting  consciousness  that  I  can  trust  myself  to  govern 
and  protect  myself,  without  being  tied  to  a  watch-dog, 
whose  baying  would  serve  much  the  same  purpose 
as  that  picture  hi  mosaic  in  the  House  of  the  Tragic 
Poet.  I  have  a  very  sincere  affection  for  you,  Alma, 
but  the  day  on  which  you  sell  yourself  in  a  loveless 
marriage,  will  strain  hard  on  the  cable  of  esteem." 

"  Is  it  for  this  reason  that  you  refuse  to  officiate  as 
my  bridesmaid  ?" 

"  Solely  because  I  will  neither  witness  nor  partici 
pate  in  an  act  which  will  give  me  great  pain,  by  lower 
ing  my  estimate  of  your  character." 

Alma's  long,  supple,  tapering  fingers  were  out 
stretched,  and  taking  Leo's  white  dimpled  hands,  drew 
them  caressingly  to  her  face,  pressing  a  palm  against 
each  cheek. 

"  Yonr  good  opinion  is  so  precious,  I  cannot  afford 


526  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

to  lose  it.  We  accept  men's  flattery  and  expect  their 
compliments,  because  it  is  a  traditional  homage  that 
survives  the  chivalry  that  inspired  it;  but  we  don't 
mistake  chaff  for  wheat,  and  the  purest,  sweetest, 
noblest  and  holiest  friendship  in  life  is  that  of  a  true,good 
woman.  The  perfume  is  as  different  as  the  stale  odor 
of  a  cigar,  from  the  breath  of  the  honeysuckle  that 
bleached  all  night  under  crystal  dew,  floats  in  at  your 
window  like  a  message  from  heaven.  I  love  you  dear 
ly,  my  pretty  Portia,  hence  I  wince  a  trifle  at  your 
harsh  ascription  of  cave  canem  motives  in  my  mar 
riage.  In  the  idyllic  Arthurian  days,  the  '  Lily  Maid 
of  Astolot '  made  a  touching  picture,  weeping  and  dy 
ing  for  the  man  who  rode  away,  marauding  on  kingly 
preserves ;  but  this  is  the  era  of  wise,  common  sense 
'Maud  Mullers',  and  she  and  the  Judge,  mating  as 
best  they  can,  lead  peaceful  lives  in  a  wholesome  at 
mosphere,  and  cause  no  scandal  by  following  *  affinities' 
across  the  lines  of  law ;  as  some  high  in  literature, 
art,  and  society  have  done,  trusting  that  the  starred 
mantle  of  genius  would  hide  their  moral  leprosy.  With 
all  my  faults,  at  least  I  am  honest ;  and  when  I  bow 
my  stiff  neck  under  the  yoke  connubial,  I  promise  you 
I  will  keep  step  demurely  and  sedately.  Do  you  re 
member  a  sombre  book  we  read  while  yachting,  which 
contained  this  brave  confession  of  a  woman,  whose 
marriage  made  her  historic  ?  '  I  thought  I  had  done 
with  life.  I  knew  I  had  now  cause  to  be  proud  of  belong 
ing  to  this  man,  and  I  was  proud.  At  the  same  time 
I  as  little  feigned  ardent  love  for  him,  as  he  demanded 
it  from  me.'  Leo,  you  and  I  represent  different  types. 
You  are  an  eagle  brooding  in  cold  eternal  solitude  upon 
the  heights,  rather  than  be  wooed  by  valley  hawks ;  I 
am  only  a  very  tired  wren,  who  missed  a  mate  OR  my 
first  Valentine  season,  and  seeing  my  plumage  grows 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  527 

a  rusty  brown,  I  accept  the  overtures  of  one  similarly 
forlorn,  and  hope  for  serene  domesticity  under  the  shel 
tering  eaves  of  some  quiet,  cosey  barn.  You  are  a 
nobler  bird,  no  doubt;  but  trust  me  dear,  I  shall  be 
the  happier." 

Leo  withdrew  her  hands,  and  pushed  back  her  chair, 
widening-  the  space  that  divided  them. 

'  *  You  disappoint  me  keenly.  I  thought  you  too  brave 
to  crouch  before  the  jeers  hurled  at  'old  maidenism'. 
Moral  cowardice  is  the  last  flaw  I  expected  in  one  of 
your  fibre." 

"  Wait  till  you  are  thirty-three,  and  stand  as  a  tar 
get  at  Society's  archery  meeting.  Yesterday  Celeste 
was  pale  with  horror  when  she  showed  me  two  white 
hairs  pulled  from  my  <  bangs',  and  added,  '  Helas 
mees  !  and  powdered  hair  no  more  the  style  !'  My  dear 
girl— 

"  '  True  love,  of  course,  is  scarcely  in  society, 

Unless  in  fancy  dress,  and  masked  like  one  of  us — ' 

still  I  really  am  very  proud  of  my  six  feet  two  inches 
prospective  conjugal  yoke-fellow  ;  proud  of  his  martial 
bearing,  his  brilliant  reputation,  '  proud  of  his  pride  '; 
and  I  think  I  shall  grow  very  fond  of  him,  because  in  a 
mild  way  I  think  he  cares  for  me;  and  we  can  make  a  lit 
tle  Indian  Summer  for  each  other  before  the  frosts  of 
Winter  fall  upon  us.  What  else  can  I  do  with  my  life  ? 
Think  of  it.  ^apa  will  be  married  soon,  and  while  I 
don't  propose  to  tear  my  hair  and  insult  his  bride,  no 
body  can  be  expected  to  reach  such  altitudes  of  self- 
abnegation  as  to  want  a  step-mother.  Poor  papa,  I 
am  sure  I  hope  he  may  be  very  happy,  but  it  is  super 
human  to  elect  to  live  under  the  same  roof,  and  smile 
benignantly  on  his  bliss.  Rivers,  too,  has  slipped  under 
the  matrimonial  noose,  and  I  am  absolutely  thrown  on 


528  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


. 

«/l 


my  own  resources  for  companionship.  What  does 
ciety  offer  me  ?  Haggard,  weazen  old  witch,  bedizened 
in  a  painted  mask  ;  don't  I  know  the  yellow  teeth  and 
bleared  eyes  behind  the  paste-board,  and  the  sharp 
nails  in  the  claws  hidden  under  undressed  kid  ?  Have 
not  I  gone  around  for  years  on  her  gaudy  wheel,  like 
that  patient,  uncomplaining  goat  we  saw  stepping  on 
the  broad  spokes  of  the  great  wheel  that  churned  the 
butter,  and  pressed  the  cheese  hi  that  dairy,  near 
Udine?  The  dizzying  circle,  where  one  must  step, 
step — keep  time  or  be  lost !  In  Whiter,  balls,  recep 
tions,  luncheons,  teas,  Germans,  theatre  parties,  opera 
suppers ;  a  rush  for  the  first  glimpse  of  the  last  picture 
that  emerges  from  the  custom-house;  for  a  bouquet 
of  the  newest  rose  that  took  the  prize  at  the  London 
Show.  In  season,  coaching  parties,  tally  ho!  Then 
fox  hunting  minus  cne  fox,  and  later,  boating  and 
bathing  and  lawn  tennis  ! — and — always — everywhere 
heartburnings,  vapid  formalities ;  beaux  setting  belles 
at  each  other  like  terriers  scrambling  after  a  mouse ; 
mothers  lying  hi  wait,  as  wise  cats  watching  to 
get  their  paws  on  the  first-class  catch  they  know  their 
pretty  kittens  cannot  manage  successfully.  Oh  ! 
Don't  I  know  it  all !  I  dare  say  my  world  is  thu 
very  best  possible  of  its  kind ;  and  I  am  not  cynical , 
but  oh  Lord !  I  am  so  deadly  tired  of  everything,  and 
everybody." 

"  No  wonder,  unless  you  mercilessly  calumniate 
it ;  but  you  have  only  yourself  to  blame.  You  mado 
social  success  your  aim,  fashionable  life  your  temple 
of  worship,  sham  your  only  God.  If  you  habitually 
drink  poppy  juice,  can  you  fail  to  be  drowsy  ?" 

"  Oh  bless  you !  I  have  been  polytheistic  as  any 
other  well-read  pagan  of  rny  day,  and  changed  the 
h  :ads  and  the  labels  of  the  fetiches  on  my  altar  almost 


AT  THE   MERCY   OP  TIBERIUS.  529 

as  often  as  my  ball  wardrobe.  I  aspired  to  '  culture '  in 
all  the  '  cults ',  and  I  improved  diligently  my  opportu 
nities.  One  year  the  stylish  craze  was  aesthetics,  and 
I  fought  my  way  to  the  front  of  the  bedlamites  raving 
about  Sapphic  types,  '  Sibylla  Palmifera'  and  '  Astarte 
Syriaca ';  and  I  wore  miraculously  limp,  draggled 
skirts,  that  tangled  about  my  feet  tight  as  the  robes 
of  Burne  Jones'  '  Vivien.'  Next  season  the  star  of 
ceramics  and  bric-a-brac  was  in  the  ascendant,  and  I 
ran  the  gamut  of  Satsuma,  Kyoto,  de  la  Robbia, 
Limoge  and  Gubbio ;  of  niello,  and  millefiori  glass,  of 
Queen  Anne  brass  and  Japanese  bronze;  while  my 
snuff  boxes  and  my  '  symphony  in  fans  '  graced  all  the 
loan  exhibitions.  Soon  after,  a  celebrated  scientist 
from  England  who  had  bowled  over  all  the  pins  set  up 
by  his  predecessors,  lectured  in  our  Boeotia ;  and  fired 
with  zeal  for  truth,  I  swept  aside  all  my  costly 
idealistic  rubbish  into  a  '  doomed  pyramid  of  the 
vanities ',  and  swore  allegiance  to  the  Positive,  the 
'  Knowable',  whose  priests  handled  hammers,  spectro 
scopes,  electric  batteries — and  who  set  up  for  me  a  whole 
Pantheon  of  science  fetiches.  I  bought  a  microscope 
and  peered  into  tissues,  pollen  cells,  diatoms,  ditch 
ooze  ;  and  pitied  my  clever  and  very  talented  grand 
mother  who  died  ignorant  of  the  family  secrets  reveal 
ed  by  ( totemism',  ignorant  of  '  parthenogenesis  '  which 
proved  so  conclusively  the  truth  of  her  own  firm  convic 
tion,  that  the  faults  she  deplored  in  her  son's  children 
were  all  inherited  directly  from  her  daughter-in-law, 
whom  she  detested ;  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  the  sun 
which  she  regarded  as  a  dazzling  yellow  fire  was  by  bo- 
[  j  metric  measures  shown  to  be  in  reality  of  a  restful,  and 
refreshing  blue  color.  By  the  time  I  was  fully  convinced 
liiat  teleology  was  as  dead  as  the  Ptolemaic  theory, 
and  that  '  wings  were  not  planned  for  flight,  but  that 


530  AT  THE  MERCY   OF   TIBERIUS. 

flight  has  produced  wings',  hence  that  Haeckel's  gos 
pel  of  f  Dysteleology '  or  purposelessness  in  Nature  sat 
isfactorily  explained  creation — a  great  wave  of  oriental 
theosophy  overflowed  us ;  and  a  revival  of  Buddhism 
invited  me  to  seek  Nirvana  as  the  final  beatitude, 
where — 

"  'We shall  be 

Part  of  the  mighty  universal  whole, 
And  through  all  aeons  mix  and  mingle  with  the 
Kosmic  Soul ! ' 

Or  to  make  matters  clearer  still : 

*  *  Om,  mani  Padma,  Om  I  the  dewdrop  slips 
Into  the  shining  sea  P 

Even  a  sponge  can  hold  only  so  much,  and  I  fell  back 
— or  shall  I  say  forward — in  the  path  of  progress  to 
rest  in  the  dimness  of  agnosticism.  Is  it  strange,  Leo, 
that  I  am  desperately  tired  ;  and  willing  to  plant  my 
feet  on  the  rock  of  matrimony,  which  will  neither  dis 
solve  nor  slip  away,  and  to  which  my  vows  will  moor 
me  firmly  ?" 

"If  you  had  clung  to  your  Bible,  and  prayed  more, 
you  would  not  have  wasted  so  signally  the  years  that 
might  have  brought  you  enduring  happiness.  For 
give  me,  Alma,  but  you  have  lived  solely  for  self." 

"  Yet  now,  when  I  propose  to  live  solely  for  some 
body  else,  you  shake  me  off,  and  repudiate  me  ?  Sel 
fish  you  think  ?  I  dare  say  I  am,  but  religion  now-a- 
day  winks  at  that,  nay  fosters  it.  Each  church  is  an 
octopus,  and  the  members  are  laboriously  striving  to 
disprove  the  Saviour's  admonition  :  '  Ye  cannot  serve 
God  and  mammon.'  I  am  no  worse  than  my  ritualis 
tic  sisters  whom  I  meet  and  gossip  with,  under  cover 
of  the  organ  muttering,  and  sometimes  I  wonder  if 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  531 

after  all  we  are  any  nearer  the  kingdom  of  heaven  that 
Christ  preached,  than  the  pagans  whose  customs  we 
retain  under  evangelical  names.  '  They  sacrificed  a 
white  kid  to  the  propitious  divinities,  and  a  black  kid 
to  the  unpropitious.'  Do  not  we  likewise  ?  The  church 
or  one  of  its  pensioners  needs  money ;  so  instead  of 
denying  ourselves  some  secular  amusement,  cutting 
short  our  chahlis,  terrapin,  pdte  de  foie  gras,  gateau, 
Grec,  Amontillado  ;  wearing  less  sealskin  and  sables, 
buying  fewer  pigeon-blood  rubies,  absolutely  mortify 
ing  the  flesh  in  order  to  offer  a  contribution  out  of  our 
pockets  to  God,  how  ingeniously  we  devise  schemes  to 
extract  the  largest  possible  amount  of  purely  personal 
pleasure  from  the  expenditure  of  the  sum,  we  call  our 
contribution  to  charity  ?  We  build  chapels,  and  feed 
orphans,  and  clothe  widows,  and  endow  reformatories, 
and  establish  beds  in  hospitals,  how  ?  By  a  devout, 
consecrating  self-denial  which  manifests  itself  in  eating 
and  drinking,  in  singing  and  dancing,  at  kirmess,  char 
ity  balls,  amateur  theatricals,  garden  parties  ;  where 
the  cost  of  our  XV.  Siecle  costume  is  quadruple  the 
price  of  the  ticket  that  admits  to  our  sacrifice  of  black 
and  wThite  kids  in  the  same  sanctuary.  We  serve  God 
with  one  hand,  and  we  surely  serve  with  the  other  the 
Mammon  of  selfishness  and  vanity.  We  have  Lenten 
service,  Lenten  dietetics,  Lenten  costumes  even  ;  Len- 
teii  progressive  euchre,  Lenten  clubs ;  but  where  are 
the  Lenten  virtues,  where  the  genuine  humility,  charity, 
self -dedication  of  body  and  soul  to  true  holiness  ?" 

"  The  church  is  a  school.  If  pupils  will  not  heed  ad 
monition,  and  defy  the  efforts  of  instructors,  is  the  in 
stitution  responsible  for  the  failure  in  education  ?  The 
iradication  of  selfishness  is  the  mission  of  the  churches ; 
and  if  we  individually  practised  at  home  a  genuine 
self-denial  for  righteousness'  sake,  we  should  eol- 


532  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

lectively  show  the  world  fewer  flaws  for  scoffing  repri 
mand." 

"  The  shepherds  are  too  timid  to  control  their  flocks. 
If  they  only  had  the  nerve  to  pick  us  up,  turn  our 
hearts  inside  out,  show  us  the  black  corners,  and  the 
ossifications,  and  call  sin,  sin,  we  should  beg-in  to  real 
ize  what  despicable  shams  we  are.  Dr.  Douglass,  the 
Bishop,  is  the  only  one  I  know  who  lays  us  on  the  dis 
secting  table,  and  who  does  not  speak  of  '  human  falli 
bility  '  when  he  means  vice.  He  told  us  one  day  that 
the  Gospel  required  a  line  of  demarcation  between  the 
godly  and  the  ungodly,  between  Christians  and  unbe 
lievers  ;  but  that  it  has  become  imaginary  like  the  meri 
dian  and  the  equator ;  and  that  he  very  much  feared 
the  strongest  microscope  in  the  laboratories  could  not 
find  where  the  boundary  line  ran,  between  the  World 
the  Flesh  and  the  Devil,  and  the  Kingdom  of  God  in 
our  souls.  I  am  sorry  a  distant  State  called  him  to  her 
Episcopal  chair,  for  his  cold  steel  is  needed  among  us. 
Now  tell  me,  Leo,  what  you  intend  to  do  with  vour 
life  ?" 

"  Spend  it  for  God  and  my  fellow  creatures  ;  and  en 
joy  all  the  pure  happiness  I  can  appropriate  without 
wronging  others.  I  have  so  many  privileges  granted 
me,  that  I  ought  to  accomplish  some  good  in  this  world , 
as  a  thank  offering." 

"  Take  care  you  don't  make  a  fetich  of  Jerusalem 
missions,  Chinese  tracts,  and  Sheltering  Arms  ;  and 
lose  your  dear,  sweet  personality  in  a  goody-goody  ma 
chine  bigot.  Forgive  me,  dear  old  girl,  but  sometimes 
I  fear  a  shadow  has  fallen  in  your  sunshine." 

"  Sooner  or  later  they  fall  into  every  life,  yet  mine 
will  pass  away  I  feel  assured.  *  Pain,  suffering,  fail 
ure  are  as  needful  as  ballast  to  a  ship,  without  which 
it  does  not  draw  enough  water,  becomes  a  plaything 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  533 

for  the  winds  and  waves,  travels  no  certain  road,  and 
easily  overturns.'  If  the  gloomiest  pessimist  of  thi- 
century  can  extract  that  comfort,  what  may  I  not  hop-. 
for  my  future?  I  am  going  to  rebuild  my  house  ;ii 

X and  when  it  is  completed,  I  shall  expect  the 

privilege  of  returning  the  hospitality  you  have  so  kind 
ly  shown  me.  I  shall  be  very  busy  for  at  least  two 
years,  and  I  am  glad  to  know  that  Aunt  Patty  is  be 
ginning  to  manifest  some  interest  in  my  plans." 

"  Leo,  may  I  ask  something  ?" 

"  If  you  are  quite  sure  you  have  the  right  to  ask, 
and  that  I  can  have  no  reason  to  decline  answering." 

"  I  can't  bear  that  you  should  live  and  die  without 
being  a  happy  wife.  I  don't  want  you  to  become  a 
mere  benevolent  automaton  set  aside  for  church 
work,  and  charities ;  getting  solemn  and  thin,  with 
patient  curves  deepening  around  your  mouth,  and 
loneliness  looking  out  of — 

"  '  Eyes,  meek  as  gentle  Mercy's  at  the  throne  of  heaven.'  " 

' '  To  be  a  happy  wife  is  the  dream  of  womanhood, 
and  if  the  day  should  ever  dawn  when  God  gives  me 
that  crown  of  joy,  I  shall  wear  it  gladly,  proudly,  and 
feel  that  this  world  has  yielded  me  its  richest  blessing; 
but,  Alma,  to-day  I  know  no  man  whom  I  could  marry 
with  the  hope  of  that  perfect  union  which  alone  sanc 
tions  and  hallows  wedded  love.  I  must  be  all  the  world 
to  my  husband ;  and  he — next  to  God — must  be  the  uni 
verse  to  me.  There  is  Gen'l  Haughton  coming  up  the 
stairs,  so  I  considerately  efface  myself.  Good-bye  till 
luncheon." 

As  she  glided  away  and  disappeared  behind  the  cur 
tain  leading  into  the  library,  Alma  looked  after  her, 
with  very  misty  eyes,  full  of  tenderness. 

"  Brave,  proud  soul ;  deep,  sorrowful  heart.     If  she 


534:  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

can't  drown  her  star,  at  least  she  will  admit  no  lesser 
light.  She  will  never  swerve  one  iota  from  her  lofty 
standard,  and  some  day,  please  God  ,  she  may  yet 
wear  her  coveted  crown  right  royally.  Governor 
Glenbeigh  is  worthy  even  of  her,  but  will  his  devotion 
win  her  at  last?" 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

T  F  it  be  true  that  the  universal  Law  of  Labor,  phys- 
ical  or  mental,  emanated  from  the  Creator  as  a 
penal  statute,  for  disobedience  which  forfeited  Eden, 
how  merciful  and  how  marvellous  is  the  delicacy  of  an 
adjustment,  whereby  all  growth  of  bod3r,  mind  and 
soul  being  conditioned  by  work,  humanity  converts 
punishment  into  benediction  ;  escapes  degeneration,  at 
tains  development  solely  in  accordance  with  the  pro 
visions  of  the  primeval  curse,  man's  heritage  of  labor  ? 
Amid  the  wreck  of  sacerdotal  systems,  the  destruc 
tion  of  national  gods,  the  periodical  tidal  waves  of 
scepticism,  the  gospel  of  work  maintains  triumphantly 
its  legions  of  evangels  ;  its  apostolic  succession  direct 
from  Adam ;  its  myriad  temples  always  alight  with 
altar  fires,  always  vocal  with  the  sublime  hymn  swell 
ing  from  millions  of  consecrated  throats. 

The  one  infallible  tonic  for  weakened  souls,  the  one 
supreme  balm  for  bruised  hearts  is  the  divinely  distill 
ed  chrism  of  labor. 

Absorbed  in  the  round  of  duties  that  employed  her 
hands  and  thoughts,  and  necessitated  dedication  of 
tvery  waking  hour,  Beryl  found  more  solace  than  she 
had  dared  to  hope  ;  and  the  artistic  fancies  which  she 
had  supposed  extinguished,  spread  their  frail  gossamer 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  535 

wings  and  fluttered  shyly  into  the  serene  sunshine 
that  had  broken  upon  her  frozen  life.  The  distinctive 
ly  ornamental  character  of  many  of  the  industrial  pur 
suits  at  the  "  Anchorage",  demanded  originality  and 
variety  of  designs,  and  as  this  department  had  been 
assigned  to  her,  she  entered  with  increasing  zest  the 
tempting  field  of  congenial  employment;  yet  day  by  day, 
bending  over  her  tasks,  she  never  lost  sight  of  the  chain 
that  clanked  at  her  wrist,  that  bound  her  to  a  hideous 
past,  to  a  murky,  lowering  and  menacing  future. 

Weeks  slipped  away,  months  rolled  on ;  Autumn 
overtook  her.  Winter  snows  and  sleet  blanched  the 
heavenly  blue  of  the  dimpling  lake,  and  no  tidings 
reached  her  from  the  wanderer,  for  whom  she  prayed. 
The  advertisement  had  elicited  no  reply,  and  though  it 
had  long  ceased  to  appear,  she  daily  searched  the  per 
sonal  column  of  the  "  Herald",  with  a  vague  expecta 
tion  of  some  response.  If  her  brother  still  lived,  was 
the  world  so  wide,  that  she  could  never  trace  his  erring 
passage  through  it  ?  Would  no  instinct  of  natural  af 
fection  prompt  him  to  seek  news  of  the  mother  who 
had  idolized  him  ?  After  a  while  she  must  renew  the 
quest,  but  for  the  present,  safety  demanded  her  se 
clusion  ;  and  since  only  Doctor  Grantlin  knew  the 
place  of  her  retreat,  she  felt  secure  from  discovery. 

One  Spring  day,  when  warm  South  winds  had  kiss 
ed  open  the  spicy  lips  of  lilacs,  and  yellowed  the  ter 
race  with  crocus  flakes,  Beryl  dismissed  her  class  of 
pupils  in  drawing  and  painting,  and  was  engaged  in 
dusting  the  plaster  casts,  and  arranging  the  palettes 
and  pencils  left  in  disorder.  The  door  opened,  and  a 
pretty,  young  German  Sister  looked  in. 

"  Sister  Ruth  have  need  of  you  to  do  some  errands  ; 
and  you  must  go  on  the  street ;  so  you  will  get  your 
bonnet  and  veil.  Is  it  that  you  will  be  there  soon  ?" 


536  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"  I  will  come  at  once,  Sister  Elsbeth." 

For  several  days  Sister  Ruth  had  been  confined  to 
her  room  by  inflammatory  rheumatism,  and  when 
Beryl  entered,  the  invalid  presented  the  appearance  of 
a  mummy  swathed  in  red  flannel. 

' '  I  am  sorry  to  disturb  you,  and  equally  sorry  that 
I  feel  obliged  to  exact  a  reluctant  service,  because  I 
know  you  dislike  to  visit  the  business  part  of  the  city, 
and  there  I  must  send  you.  This  note  from  Mrs.  Van- 
derdonk  will  explain  the  nature  of  the  business,  which 
I  can  intrust  to  no  one  except  yourself ;  and  you  will 
see  that  the  commission  admits  of  no  delay.  Here  is 
your  car  fare.  Go  first  to  No.  100  Lucre  Avenue,  talk 
fully  with  Mrs.  Vanderdonk,  and  then  ride  down  to 
Jardon  &  Jackson's  and  get  all  the  material  you  think 
will  be  required.  You  will  observe,  she  lays  great 
stress  on  the  superfine  quality  of  the  plush.  Order 
the  bill  delivered  with  the  goods ;  and  if  anything  be 
required  in  your  department,  you  had  better  leave  the 
list  with  Kling  &  Turner." 

Three  squares  south  of  the  "  Anchorage  "  ran  a  line 
of  street  cars  which  carried  her  away  to  the  heart  of 
the  city ;  and  at  the  expiration  of  an  hour  and  a  half, 
Beryl  had  executed  the  commission,  and  was  walking 
hgrneward,  watching  for  a  car  which  would  expedite  her 
return.  Dreading  identification,  she  went  rarely  into 
the  great  thoroughfare  ;  and  now  felt  doubly  shielded 
from  observation  by  the  Quaker-shaped  drab  bonnet 
and  veil  that  covered  her  white  cap.  As  she  was  pass 
ing  the  entrance  of  a  dancing  academy,  a  throng  of 
boys  and  girls  poured  out,  filling  the  sidewalk,  and 
n -eating  a  temporary  blockade,  through  which  a  gen- 
i.eman  laden  with  several  packages,  elbowed  his  way. 
A  moment  later,  Beryl's  foot  struck  some  obstacle, 
•-!•.']  looking  down  she  saw  a  large  portfolio  l3ring  on 


AT  THE  MEROY  OF  TIBERIUS.  537 

the  pavement.  It  was  a  handsome  morocco  case,  wit  h 
the  initials  "  G.  2«IcL",  stamped  in  gilt  upon  the  cover, 
which  was  tied  with  well-worn  strings.  She  held  it. 
up,  looked  around,  even  turned  back,  thinking-  that  the 
owner  might  have  returned  to  search  for  it ;  but  the 
gentleman  who  had  hurried  through  the  crowd  was  no 
longer  visible,  and  in  the  distance  she  fancied  she  saw 
a  similar  figure  cross  the  street,  and  spring  upon  a  car 
rolling  in  the  opposite  direction. 

The  human  clot  had  dissolved,  the  juvenile  assembly 
had  drifted  away ;  and  as  no  one  appeared  to  claim  the 
lost  article,  she  signalled  to  the  driver  of  the  car  pass 
ing  just  then,  entered  and  took  a  seat  in  one  corner. 
The  only  passengers  were  two  nurses  with  bands  oi 
little  ones,  seeking  fresh  air  in  a  neighboring  park  ; 
and  slipping  the  book  under  her  veil,  Beryl  began 
to  examine  its  contents.  A  glance  showed  her 
that  it  belonged  to  some  artist,  and  was  filled  with 
sketches  neatly  numbered  and  dated ;  while  between 
the  leaves  lay  specimens  of  ferns  and  lichens  carefully 
pressed. 

The  studies  were  varied,  and  in  all  stages  of  advance 
ment;  here  two  elk  heads  and  a  buffalo;  there  a 
gaunt  coyote  crouching  in  the  chaparral ;  a  cluster  of 
giant  oaks ;  far  off,  a  waving  line  of  mountain  peaks: 
a  canon  with  vultures  sailing  high  above  it;  cow  boys, 
and  a  shoreless  sea  of  prairie,  with  no  shadows  excep' 
those  cast  by  filmy  clouds  drifting  against  the  su:i. 
Slowly  turning  the  leaves,  which  showed  everywhere  a 
master's  skilful  hand,  Beryl  found  two  sheets  of  paper 
tied  together  with  a  strand  of  silk  ;  and  between  them 
lay  a  fold  of  tissue  paper,  to  preserve  some  delicate 
lines.  She  untied  the  knot,  and  carefully  lifting  the 
tissue,  looked  at  the  sketch. 

A  faint,  inarticulate  cry  escaped  her,  and  she  sank 


638  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

back  an  instant  in  the  corner  of  the  seat ;  but  the  chat 
ter  of  the  nurses,  and  the  whimpering  wail  of  one  dis 
satisfied  baby  mercifully  drowned  the  sound.  The  car, 
the  trees  on  the  street,  the  belfry  of  a  church  seemed 
spinning1  in  some  witch's  dance,  and  an  icy  wind  swept 
over  and  chilled  her.  She  threw  aside  her  veil,  stooped, 
and  her  lips  whitened. 

What  was  there  hi  the  figure  of  a  kneeling  monk, 
to  drive  the  blood  in  cold  waves  to  her  throbbing 
heart?  The  sketch  represented  the  head  and  shoul 
ders  of  a  man,  whose  cowl  had  fallen  back,  exposing 
the  outlines  and  moulding  of  a  face  and  throat  absolute 
ly  flawless  in  beauty,  yet  darkened  by  the  reflection 
of  some  overpowering  and  irremediable  woe.  The  feat 
ures  were  youthful  as  St.  Sebastian's ;  the  expression 
that  of  one  prematurely  aged  by  severe  and  unremitting 
mental  conflict;  but  neither  shaven  crown,  nor  cowl 
availed  to  disguise  Bertie  Brentano,  and  as  his  sister's 
eyes  gazed  at  the  sketch,  it  wavered,  swam,  vanished 
in  a  mist  of  tears. 

In  one  corner  of  the  sheet  a  man's  hand  had  written 
"Brother  Luke",  August  the  10th.  Had  relenting 
fate,  or  a  merciful  prayer-answering-God  placed  in  her 
hand  the  long  sought  clue  ?  When  Beryl  recovered 
from  the  shock  of  recognition,  and  looked  around,  she 
found  the  car  empty  ;  and  discovered  that  she  had  been 
carried  several  squares  beyond  the  street  where  she 
intended  to  get  out  and  walk. 

Carefully  replacing  the  tissue  paper  and  silk  thread, 
she  tied  the  leathern  straps  of  the  portfolio,  and  left  the 
car;  holding  the  sketches  close  to  her  heart  as  she 
hurried  homeward.  When  she  turned  a  corner  and 
caught  sight  of  the  bronze  anchor  over  the  door,  she 
involuntarily  slackened  her  pace,  and  at  the  same 
moment  a  policeman  crossed  the  street,  stood  in  front 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  539 

of  her,  and  touched  his  cap.    The  sight  of  his  uniform 
thrilled  her  with  a  premonition  of  danger.   , 

"  Pardon  me,  Sister,  but  something  has  been  lost  on 
the  street." 

"  A  portfolio  ?    I  have  found  it." 
"  It  is  very  valuable  to  the  owner." 
"  I    intend    having    it    advertised    in    to-morrow's 
paper." 

' '  The  person  to  whom  it  belongs,  wishes  to  leave  the 
city  to-night,  hence  his  haste  in  trying  to  recover  it." 
' '  I  picked  it  up  in  front  of  Heilwiggs'  Dancing  Acad 
emy.     How  did  you  know  who  had  found  it?" 

"  The  owner  discovered  he  had  dropped  it,  soon  after 
he  boarded  a  car,  where  Captain  Tunstall  of  our  force 
happened  to  be,  and  he  at  once  telegraphed  to  all  the 
stations  to  be  on  the  look  out.  A  boot-black  whose 
stand  is  near  Heilwiggs',  reported  that  he  saw  one  of 
the  *  Gray  Women'  pick  up  something,  and  get  on  an 
upbound  car.  Our  station  was  telephoned  to  interview 
the  'Anchorage*,  so  you  see  we  are  prompt.  I  was 
just  going  over  to  ring  the  bell,  and  make  inquiries." 
"Who  lost  the  book?" 

"  A  man  named  Mcllvaine,  an  Englishman  I  think, 
who  is  obliged  to  hurry  on  to-night,  in  order  to  catch 
some  New  York  steamer  where  his  passage  is  en 
gaged." 

"  You  are  sure  he  is  a  foreigner  ?"  asked  Beryl,  who 
was  feverishly  revolving  the  possibility  that  the  sketch 
belonged  to  some  detective,  and  was  intended  for  iden 
tification  of  the  picture  on  the  glass  door  at  X . 

"  You  can't  be  sure  of  anything  that  is  only  lip  deep, 
but  that  was  the  account  telephoned  to  us.  There  is  a 
reward  of  twenty  dollars  if  the  book  is  delivered  by 
eight  P.M.;  after  that  time,  ten  dollars,  and  directions 
left  by  which  to  forward  it  to  London.  He  said  it  was 


540  AT   THE   MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

worthless  1  o  anybody  else,  but  contained  a  lot  of  pic 
tures  he  valued." 

"I  do  not  want  the  reward,  but  before  I  surrender 
the  portfolio,  I  must  see  the  owner." 
"Why?" 

"For  reasons  that  concern  only  myself.  He  can 
come  here,  and  claim  his  property  ;  or  I  will  take  it 
to  him,  and  restore  it,  after  he  has  answered  some 
questions.  You  are  quite  welcome  to  the  reward,  which 
I  am  sure  you  merit  because  of  your  promptness  and 
circumspection.  Will  you  notify  him  that  he  can  ob 
tain  his  book  by  calling  at  the  'Anchorage  '?" 

"  Our  instructions  are,  to  deliver  the  book  at  Boom 
213,  Hotel  Lucullus.  It  is  now  four  o'clock." 

"I  will  not  surrender  the  book  to  you;  but  I  will 
accompany  you  to  the  hotel,  and  deliver  it  to  the  owner 
i:i  your  presence.  Let  us  lose  no  time." 

''Very  well.  Sister,  I'll  keep  a  little  behind,  and 
jump  on  the  first  red  star  car  that  passes  down.  Look 
out  for  me  on  the  platform,  and  I'll  stop  the  car  for 
you." 

"Thank  you,"  said  Beryl,  wondering  whether  the 
sanctity  of  her  garb  exacted  this  mark  of  deference,  or 
whether  the  instinctive  chivalry  of  American  manhood 
prompted  him  to  spare  her  the  appearance  of  police 
surveillance. 

Keeping  her  in  sight,  he  loitered  until  they  found 
themselves  on  the  same  car,  where  the  officer,  appar 
ently  engrossed  by  his  cigarette,  retained  his  stand  on 
the  rear  platform.  In  front  of  the  hotel  two  omnibuses 
were  discharging  their  human  freight,  and  in  the  con 
fusion,  Beryl  and  her  escort  passed  unobserved  into  the 
building.  He  motioned  her  into  one  of  the  reception 
rooms  on  the  second  floor,  and  made  his  way  to  the 
office. 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  541 

Drawing-  her  quaint  bonnet  as  far  over  her  face  as 
possible,  and  straightening  her  veil,  Beryl  sat  down  on 
a  sofa  and  tried  to  quiet  the  beating  of  her  pulses,  the 
nervous  tremor  that  shook  her.  She  had  ventured 
shyly  out  of  her  covert,  and  like  all  other  hunted  crea 
tures,  trembled  at  her  own  daring  in  making  capture 
feasible.  Memory  rendered  her  vaguely  apprehensive ; 
bitter  experience  quickened  her  suspicions. 

Was  she  running  straight  into  some  fatal  trap, 
ingeniously  baited  with  her  brother's  portrait  ?  Would 
the  Sheriff  in  X ,  would  Mr.  Dunbar  himself,  recog 
nize  her  in  her  gray  disguise  ?  She  walked  to  a  mirror 
set  in  the  wall,  and  stared  at  her  own  image,  put  up 
one  hand  and  pushed  out  of  sight  every  ring  of  hair 
that  showed  beneath  the  white  cap  frill;  then  reassur 
ed,  resumed  her  seat.  How  long  the  waiting  seemed. 

Somebody's  pet  Skye  terrier,  blanketed  with  scarlet 
satin  embroidered  with  a  monogram  in  gilt,  had  defied 
the  bienseance  of  fashionable  canine  and  feline  etiquette, 
by  flying  at  somebody's  sedate,  snowy  Maltese  cat, 
whose  collar  of  silver  bells  jangled  out  of  tune,  as  the 
combatants  rolled  on  the  velvet  carpet,  swept  like  a 
cyclone  through  the  reception  room,  fled  up  the  corridor. 
Two  pretty  children,  gay  as  paroquets,  in  their  cardi 
nal  plush  cloaks,  ran  to  the  piano  and  began  a  furious 
tattoo,  while  their  nurse  gossiped  with  the  bell  boy. 

With  her  hands  locked  around  the  portfolio,  Beryl 
sat  watching  the  door;  and  at  last  the  policeman 
appeared  at  the  threshold,  where  he  paused  an  instant, 
then  vanished. 

A  gentleman  apparently  forty  years  of  age  came  in, 
and  approached  her.  He  was  short  in  stature,  florid, 
slightly  bald;  wore  mutton  chop  whiskers,  and  a  travel 
ling  suit  of  gray  tweed  broadly  checked. 

Beryl  rose,  the  stranger  bowed- 


54:2  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"Ah,  you  have  my  sketch  book!  Madam,  I  am 
eternally  your  debtor.  Intrinsically  worthless,  per 
haps  ;  yet  there  are  reasons  which  make  it  inestimably 
valuable  to  me." 

"I  picked  it  up  from  the  pavement,  and  though  I 
opened  and  examined  it,  you  will  find  the  contents  in 
tact.  Will  you  look  through  it  ?" 

"  Oh  !  I  dare  say  it  is  all  right.  No  one  cares  for 
unfinished  sketches,  and  these  are  mere  studies." 

He  untied  the  thongs,  turned  over  a  dozen  or  more 
papers,  then  closed  the  lid,  and  put  his  hand  in  his 
pocket. 

"I  offered  a  reward  to — " 

4 '  I  wish  no  fee,  sir ;  but  the  policeman  has  taken 
some  trouble  in  the  matter,  and  without  his  aid  I 
should  probably  not  have  been  able  to  restore  it.  Pay 
him  what  you  promised,  or  may  deem  proper;  and  then 
permit  me  to  ask  for  some  information,  which  I  think 
you  can  give  me." 

She  beckoned  to  the  officer  who  looked  in  just  then  ; 
and  when  the  money  had  been  counted  into  his  hand, 
the  latter  lifted  his  cap. 

"  Sister,  shall  I  see  you  safe  on  the  car  ?" 

"  Thank  you,  no.  I  can  find  my  way  home.  I  teach 
drawing  at  the  '  Anchorage',  and  desire  to  ask  a  few 
questions  of  this  gentleman,  who  I  am  sure  is  an 
artist." 

When  the  policeman  had  left  them,  Beryl  took  the 
portfolio  and  opened  it,  while  the  owner  watched  her 
curiously,  striving  to  penetrate  the  silver  gray  folds  of 
her  veil. 

' '  May  I  ask  whether  you  expect  to  leave  America 
immediately?" 

"  I  expect  to  sail  on  the  steamer  for  Liverpool  next 
Saturday." 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  548 

"  Have  you  relatives  in  this  country?" 

"None.  I  am  merely  a  tourist,  seeking  glimpses 
of  the  best  of  this  vast  continent  of  yours." 

"  Did  you  make  these  sketches  ?" 

"  I  did,  from  time  to  time ;  in  fact,  mine  has  been  a 
sketching  tour,  and  this  book  is  one  of  several  I  have 
filled  in  America." 

With  trembling  fingers  she  untied  the  silk,  lifted  the 
sketch,  and  said  in  a  voice  which,  despite  her  efforts, 
quivered : 

"  I  hope,  sir,  you  will  not  consider  me  unwarrant 
ably  inquisitive,  if  I  ask,  where  did  you  see  this  face  ?" 

"  Ah !  My  monk  of  the  mountains  ?  That  is  '  Brother 
Luke';  looks  like  one  of  II  Frate's  wonderful  heads, 
does  he  not  ?  I  saw  him — let  me  see  ?  Egad  !  Just 
exactly  where  it  was,  that  is  the  rub  !  It  was  far  west, 
beyond  Assiniboia  ;  somewhere  in  Alberta  I  am  sure." 

"  Was  it  on  British  soil,  or  in  the  United  States  ?" 

"  Certainly  in  British  territory;  and  on  one  of  the 
excursions  I  made  from  Calgary.  I  think  it  was  while 
hunting  in  the  mountains  between  Alberta  and  British 
Columbia.  Let  me  see  the  sketch.  Yes — 10th  of 
August ;  I  was  in  that  region  until  1st  of  September." 

Beryl  drew  a  deep  breath  of  intense  relief,  as  she 
reflected  that  foreign  territory  might  bar  pursuit ;  and 
leaning  forward,  she  asked  hesitatingly : 

"  Have  you  any  objection  to  telling  me  the  circum 
stances  under  which  you  saw  him;  the  situation  in 
which  you  found  him  ?" 

"  None  whatever ;  but  may  I  ask  if  you  know  him  ? 
Is  my  sketch  so  good  a  portrait?" 

"  It  is  wonderfully  like  one  I  knew  years  ago ;  and 
of  whom  I  desire  to  receive  tidings.  My  friend  is 
a  handsome  man  about  twenty-four  years  of  age." 

"  I  was  camping  out  with  a  hunting  party,  and  one 


544  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

day  while  they  were  away  gunning,  I  went  to  sketch  a 
bit  of  fir  wood  clinging  to  the  side  of  a  rocky  gorge. 
The  day  was  hot,  and  I  sat  down  to  rest  in  the  shadow 
of  a  stone  ledge,  that  jutted  over  the  cove  where  a 
spring  bubbled  from  the  crag,  and  made  a  ribbon  of 
water.  Here  is  the  place,  on  this  sheet.  Over  there, 
a  re  the  fir  trees.  Very  soon  I  heard  a  rich  voice  chant 
ing  a  solemn  strain  from  Palestrinas'  Miserere-,  the 
very  music  I  had  listened  to  in  the  Sistine  Chapel,  a  few 
months  before ;  and  peeping  from  my  sheltered  nook, 
I  saw  a  man  clad  in  monkish  garb  stoop  to  drink  from 
the  spring.  He  sat  a  while,  with  his  arms  clasped 
around  his  knees,  and  his  profile  was  so  perfect  I  seiz 
ed  my  pencil  and  drew  the  outlines  ;  but  before  I  com 
pleted  it,  he  suddenly  fell  upon  his  knees,  and  the 
intense  anguish,  remorse,  contrition — what  not — so 
changed  the  countenance,  that  while  he  prayed,  I  made 
rapidly  a  new  sis  etch.  Then  the  most  extraordinary 
thing  happened.  He  rose,  and  turning  fully  toward 
me,  I  saw  that  one-half  of  his  face  was  nobly  regular, 
classically  perfect;  while  the  other  side  was  hideously 
distorted,  deformed.  Absolutely  he  was  'Hyperion 
u  nd  Satyr'  combined — with  one  set  of  features  between 
them.  I  suppose  my  astonishment  caused  me  to  utter 
some  exclamation,  for  he  glanced  up  the  cliff,  saw  me, 
turned  and  fled.  I  shouted  and  ran,  but  could  not 
overtake  him,  and  when  I  reached  the  open  space,  1 
saw  a  figure  speeding  away  on  a  white  mustang  pony, 
and  knew  from  the  fluttering  of  the  black  skirts  that 
it  was  the  same  man.  My  sketch  shows  the  right  side 
of  his  face,  the  other  was  drawn  down  almost  beyond 
the  lineaments  of  humanity.  Beg  pardon,  madam, 
but  would  you  be  so  good  as  to  tell  me  whether  this 
freak  of  nature  was  congenital,  or  the  result  of  some 
frightful  accident?" 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  545 

Beryl  had  shut  her  eyes,  and  her  lips  were  com 
pressed  to  stifle  the  moan  that  struggled  in  her  throat. 
When  she  spoke,  the  stranger  detected  a  change  in  her 
voice. 

"  The  person  whose  countenance  was  recalled  by  your 
sketch,  was  afflicted  by  no  physical  blemish,  when  last 
I  saw  him." 

"  His  appearance  was  so  singular,  that  I  made  sun 
dry  inquiries  about  him,  but  only  one  person  seemed 
ever  to  have  encountered  him  ;  and  that  was  a  half- 
breed  Indian  driver,  belonging  to  our  party.  He  told 
me,  '  Brother  Luke*  belonged  to  a  band  of  monks  liv 
ing  somewhere  beyond  the  mountains;  and  that  he 
sometimes  crossed,  searching  for  stray  cattle.  That 
is  the  history  of  my  sketch,  and  since  I  am  indebted  to 
you  for  its  recovery,  I  regret  for  your  sake  that  it  is  so 
meagre." 

"  It  was  last  August  that  you  made  the  sketch  ?" 

"  Last  August.  And  now  may  I  ask,  to  whom  my 
thanks  are  due?" 

' '  I  am  merely  an  humble  member  of  a  sisterhood  of 
working  women,  and  my  name  could  possess  no  in 
terest  for  you.  I  owe  you  an  apology  for  trespassing 
upon  your  time,  and  prying  into  the  mysteries  of  your 
portfolio  ;  but  the  beauty  of  your  sketch,  and  its  start 
ling  resemblance  to  one  in  whom  I  have  long  felt  an  in 
terest,  must  plead  my  pardon.  I  am  grateful,  sir,  for 
your  courtesy,  and  will  detain  you  no  longer." 

He  bowed  profoundly ;  she  bent  her  head,  and  walked 
quickly  away,  keeping  her  face  lowered,  dreading  ob 
servation. 

For  the  first  time  since  her  trial  and  conviction,  a  sen 
sation  of  perfect  tranquillity  shed  rest  upon  her  anxious 
and  foreboding  heart.  Bertie  was  safe  from  capture, 
on  foreign  soil ;  and  the  testimony  of  the  traveller  that 


646  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

he  prayed  in  the  solitude  of  the  wilderness,  brought 
her  the  comforting1  assurance,  that  the  fires  of  remorse 
had  begun  the  purification  of  his  sinful  soul  from  the 
crime  that  had  blackened  so  many  lives.  Trained 
in  his  early  youth  at  a  Jesuit  College,  his  sympathies 
had  ever  been  with  the  priesthood  to  whom  his  tutors 
belonged ;  and  his  sister  readily  understood  how  swift 
ly  he  fled  to  their  penitential,  expiatory  system,  when 
the  blood  of  his  grandfather  had  stained  his  hands,  and 
the  scouts  of  the  law  hunted  him  to  desert  wilds. 

Vain  of  the  personal  beauty  that  had  always  distin 
guished  him,  she  comprehended  the  keenness  of  the 
humiliation,  which  would  goad )  am  to  screen  in  a  clois 
ter,  the  facial  mutilation,  that  punished  him  more  ex- 
cruciatingly  than  hair  shirt,  or  flagellation.  Beyond 
the  reach  of  extradition  (as  she  fondly  hoped),  invio 
late  beneath  the  cowl  of  some  Order  which,  in  protect 
ing  his  body,  essayed  also  to  cleanse,  regenerate  and 
sanctify  his  imperilled  soul,  could  she  not  now  dismiss 
the  tormenting  apprehension  that  sleeping  or  waking 
had  persistently  dogged  her,  since  the  day  when  she  saw 
the  fuchsias  on  the  handkerchief,  and  the  mother-of- 
pearl  grapes  on  the  sleeve  button,  in  the  penitentiary 
cell? 

In  a  crisis  of  dire  extremity,  overborne  by  adversity, 
terrified  by  the  realization  of  human  helplessness,  we 
ily  to  God,  and  barter  by  promise  all  our  future,  for 
the  boon  of  temporary  succor. 

How  different,  how  holy  the  mood  that  brings  us  in 
tearful  gratitude  to  dedicate  our  lives  to  His  service, 
when  having  abandoned  all  hope,  His  healing  hand 
lifts  us  out  of  long  agony  into  unexpected  rest  ? 

When  an  ignominious  death  stared  this  woman  in 
the  face,  she  had  cried  to  her  God  :  "  Though  You 
slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  You  !"  and  to-night  she 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  54:7 

bowed  her  head  in  prayer,  thankful  that  the  uplifted 
hand  held  no  longer  a  dagger,  but  had  fallen  tenderly 
in  benediction. 

Far  away  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  the  clock  in  its 
granite  tower  was  striking  two  ;  yet  Beryl  knelt  at  her 
oriel  window,  with  her  arms  crossed  on  the  wide  sill, 
and  her  eyes  fixed  upon  the  shimmering  sea,  where  a 
soft  south  wind  ruffled  it  into  ridges  of  silver,  beneath  :\ 
full  May  moon.  Beyond  those  silent  waters,  hidden 
in  some  lonely,  snow-girt  eyry,  where  perhaps  the 
muffled  thunder  of  the  Pacific  responded  to  the  mid 
night  chants  of  his  oratory,  dwelt  Bertie  ;  and  to  touch 
his  hand  once  more,  to  hear  from  his  own  lips  that  he 
had  made  his  peace  with  God,  to  kiss  him  good-bye 
seemed  all  that  was  left  for  accomplishment. 

Poor  and  unknown,  she  lacked  apparently  every 
means  requisite  for  this  attainment;  but  faith,  pa 
tience,  and  courage  were  hers.  Daily  work  for  daily 
wage  was  the  present  duty ;  and  in  God's  good  time  she 
would  find  her  brother.  How,  or  when,  so  expensive 
and  difficult  a  quest  could  be  successfully  prosecuted, 
disquieted  her  not ;  she  had  learned  to  labor  and  to 
trust ;  she  remembered  :  "  Their  strength  is  to  sit 
still." 

The  symphony  of  her  life  was  set  in  minors,  yet  sub 
tle  and  perfect  was  the  harmony  that  dwelt  therein  ; 
and  because  she  had  sternly  shut  love  out  of  her  lonely 
heart,  she  kept  votive  lights  burning  ceaselessly  on  the 
cold  altar  of  duty.  The  solitary  red  rose  of  happinesf- 
that  might  have  brightened  and  perfumed  her  thorny 
path,  she  had  cut  off,  ere  the  bud  expanded,  and 
offered  it  as  a  loyal  tribute  to  broaden  the  garland  thai 
crowned  Miss  Gordon.  At  the  mandate  of  conscience, 
she  had  unmurmuringly  surrendered  this  precious 
blossom,  but  memory  was  tantalizingly  tenacious  ;  and 


548  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

in  sorrowful  hours  of  sore  temptation,  the  brave  pure 
soul  came  swiftly  to  the  rescue  of  famishing-  heart : 
"  What  ?  Is  it  so  hard  for  us  to  keep  the  Ten  Com 
mandments  ?  Do  we  covet  our  neighbor's  lover  f" 

In  the  garden  of  earthly  existence,  some  are  ordained 
to  bloom  as  human plantce  tristes,  shedding  their  deli 
cate  aroma  like  the  "  Pretty-by-nights",  only  when 
the  glory  of  the  day  is  done,  and  twilight  shadows  coax 
open  their  pure  hearts. 

To-night  she  seemed  cradled  in  the  arms  of  peace, 
soothed  by  an  unfaltering  trust  that  whispered  : 

"Would  I  could  wish  my  wishes  all  to  rest ; 
And  know  to  wish  the  wish,  that  were  the  best." 

While  her  lips  moved  in  a  prayer  for  Bertie,  she  fell 
asleep ;  like  a  child  at  ease,  after  long  paroxysms  of 
pain.  When  she  awoke,  the  lilacs  were  swinging  their 
purple  thuribles  filled  with  dew,  in  honor  of  the  new 
day  ;  a  silvery  mist,  tinged  here  and  there  with  the 
pale  pink  hue  of  an  almond  blossom,  wavered  and 
curled  over  the  quiet  lake,  and  a  robin  red-breast, 
winging  his  way  from  the  orange  and  jasmine  boughs 
of  the  far  sweet  South,  rested  on  the  ivied  wall,  and 
poured  out  his  happy  heart  in  a  salutatory  to  the  rising 
sun. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

«  T  FEAR,  my  sister,  that  you  have  made  a  great 
•••     mistake  in  refusing  an  offer  of  marriage,  which 

almost  any  woman  might  be  proud  to  accept." 
Sister  Rufch  closed  her  writing1  desk,  and  looked  at 

Beryl  over  her  spectacles. 
"  Why  should  you  infer  that  any  such  proposal  has 

been  made  to  me?" 


AT  THE  MERCY   OF   TIBERIUS. 

"  Simply  because  I  know  all  that  has  occurred,  and 
my  cousin  writes  me  that  you  decline  to  marry  him, 
If  you  had  intended  to  remain  here  and  identify  yourseH 
with  this  institution,  I  could  better  understand  your* 
motives  in  rejecting  a  man  who  offers  you  wealth, 
good  looks,  a  stainless  reputation,  an  honored  name, 
and  the  best  possible  social  position." 

"  All  of  which  tempt  me  in  no  degree.  Mr.  Bromp- 
ton  is  doubtless  everything  yau  consider  him  ;  lives  hi 
a  brown  stone  palace,  is  an  influential  and  respected 
citizen,  but  comparatively,  we  are  strangers.  He 
bought  my  pictures,  took  a  fleeting  fancy  to  my  face, 
and  to  my  great  surprise,  indulged  in  a  romantic 
whim.  What  does  he  comprehend  of  my  past  ?  How 
little  he  understands  the  barrier  that  shuts  me  out 
from  the  lot  of  most  women." 

"  He  is  fully  acquainted  with  every  detail  of  your 
life  that  has  been  confided  to  me,  or  discovered  by  the 
public  ;  and  he  has  studied  and  admired  you  ever  since 
you  came  to  dwell  among  us.  In  view  of  your  very 
peculiar  history,  you  must  admit  that  his  affection  is 
certainly  strong.  If  you  married  him,  your  past  would 
be  effectually  blotted  out." 

"  I  have  no  desire  to  blot  it  out,  and  though  misfor 
tune  overshadowed  my  name,  it  is  the  untarnished 
legacy  my  father  left  me,  and  I  hold  it  very  sacred ; 
wrap  it  as  a  mantle  about  me.  When  suspicion  of  any 
form  of  disgrace  falls  upon  a  woman,  it  is  as  though 
some  delicate  flowrer  had  been  thrust  too  close  to  a 
scorching  fire  ;  and  no  matter  how  quickly  or  how  far 
removed,  no  matter  how  heavy  the  dews  that  empearl 
it,  how  fresh  and  cool  the  wind  that  sweeps  over  il,, 
how  bright  the  sun  that  feeds  its  pulses, — the  curled 
petals  are  never  smoothed,  the  hot  blast  leaves  its  in 
effaceable  blight.  To  me,  the  thought  of  marriage  comes 


550  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

no  more  than  to  one  who  knows  death  sits  waiting  only 
for  the  setting  of  the  sun,  to  claim  his  own.  That 
phase  of  life  is  as  inaccessible  and  uninviting  to  me,  as 
Antartic  circumpolar  lands ;  and  even  in  thought,  I 
have  no  temptation  to  explore  it.  My  future  and  my 
past  are  so  interblended,  that  I  could  as  easily  tear  out 
my  heart  and  continue  to  breathe,  as  attempt  to  sep 
arate  them.  I  have  a  certain  work  to  do,  and  its  ac 
complishment  bars  all  other  paths." 

"  Does  the  nature  of  that  work  involve  vows  of  celi 
bacy  ?" 

"  Sometimes  fate  decrees  for  us,  allowing  no  volun 
tary  vows.  How  soon  the  path  to  my  work  will  open 
before  me,  I  cannot  tell ;  but  the  day  must  come,  and 
like  a  pilgrim  girded,  I  wait  and  watch." 

' '  Can  you  find  elsewhere  a  nobler  field  of  work  than 
surrounds  you  here  ?" 

"  Certainly  not,  and  some  dross  of  selfishness  mingles 
with  the  motives  that  will  ultimately  bear  me  beyond 
these  hallowing  precincts  ;  yet  a  day  may  come,  when 
having  fulfilled  a  sacred  duty,  I  shall  travel  back, 
praying  you  to  let  me  live,  and  work,  and  die  among 
you." 

"  My  sister,  your  patient  submission,  your  tireless 
application,  have  endeared  you  to  me ;  and  I  should 
grieve  to  lose  you  from  our  little  gray  band,  where 
your  artistic  labors  have  reflected  so  much  credit  on 
the  'Home'." 

"  Thank  you,  Sister  Ruth  ;  praise  from  fellow  toilers 
is  praise  indeed,  and  the  greatest  blessing  one  human 
being  can  bestow  upon  another,  I  owe  to  you;  the 
blessing  of  being  helped  to  procure  work,  which  en 
ables  me  to  help  myself.  If  I  leave  the  '  Anchorage ' 
for  a  season,  it  will  be  on  an  errand  such  as  Noah's 
dove  went  forth  from  refuge  to  perform  ;  and  when  I 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  551 

return  with  my  olive  branch,  the  deluge  of  my  life  will 
have  spent  its  fury,  and  I  shall  rest  in  peace  where 
the  ark  is  anchored." 

"  Do  you  imagine  that  desertion  from  our  ranks  will 
be  so  readily  condoned  ?  Drum-head  court  martial 
obtains  here." 

"  Would  you  call  it  desertion,  if  seizing  the  flag  of 
duty  that  floats  over  us  here,  I  forsook  the  camp  only 
long  enough  to  scout  on  a  dangerous  outpost,  to  fight 
single-handed  a  desperate  battle  ?  If  I  fell,  the  folds 
of  our  banner  would  shroud  me ;  if  I  conquered,  would 
you  not  all  greet  me,  when  weary  and  worn  I  dragged 
myself  back  to  the  ranks  ?  Some  day,  when  I  tap  a1; 
the  ark  window,  you  will  open  your  arms  and  take  me 
in ;  for  then  my  earthly  mission  will  have  ended,  and 
the  smoke  of  the  accepted  sacrifice  will  linger  in  my 
garments." 

"  Meantime,  to-day's  duties  demand  attention.-  I 
have  a  note  from  Cyril  Brompton  requesting  that 
special  courtesy  be  shown  by  us  to  his  friend,  the  new 
Bishop,  who  is  hi  the  city,  and  who  desires  to  inspect 
the  '  Anchorage'.  Cyril  declines  escorting  the  party, 
because  he  finds  it  painful  to  meet  you  now,  and  he 
wishes  particularly  that  you  should  show  your  own  de 
partment.  I  shall  not  be  able  to  climb  to  the  third 
story,  while  my  ankles  are  so  swollen,  so  I  must  depu 
tize  you  to  do  the  honors  on  your  floor.  Hold  yourself 
in  readiness,  if  I  should  send  for  you,  and  do  not  forget 
to  give  the  Bishop  a  package  of  the  new  prospectus  of 
the  art  school.  That  basket  of  orchids  must  be  de- 
Jivered  before  five  o'clock.  Sister  Joanna  said  you  de 
tained  her  to  make  a  sketch  of  it." 

' '  I  had  almost  finished  when  you  summoned  me. 
Send  her  up  for  the  basket  in  half  an  hour." 

The  long  studio  was  deserted,  and  very  quiet  on  that 


652  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 


sultry  Saturday  afternoon  in  midsummer,  and  the 
drowsy  air  was  laden  with  fragrance  from  the  pots  of 
white  carnations,  massed  on  the  iron  balcony,  upon 
which  the  tall,  plate  glass  windows  opened  to  the  north. 
Down  the  centre  of  the  apartment  ran  a  table  covered 
with  oil  cloth,  and  on  the  walls  hung  pictures  in  oil, 
water-color,  crayon,  while  upon  brackets  and  pedes 
tals  were  mounted  plaster  casts,  terra  cotta  heads,  a 
few  bronzes,  and  some  hammered  brass  plaques.  In 
the  corners  of  the  room,  four  marvels  of  taxidermy 
contributed  brilliant  colors  mixed  on  the  feathered 
palettes  of  a  pea-fowl,  a  scarlet  flamingo,  a  gold  and  a 
silver  pheasant,  all  perched  on  miniature  mounds,  built 
of  curious  specimens  of  rock,  of  shells,  coral  and 
sphagnum. 

The  slow,  languid  swish,  swish  of  the  waters  stirred 
by  a  passing  steamer,  broke  on  the  cliff  beyond  the  wall ; 
and  along  the  sky  line  where  lake  and  atmosphere 
melted  insensibly  into  blue  distance,  great  cumulus 
copper-colored  clouds  hooded  with  salmon-tinted  folds, 
tipped  here  and  there  with  molten  silver,  shadowed 
with  pearly  hollows,  hung  entranced  by  their  own 
image,  over  the  inland  sea  that  gleamed  like  a  mirror. 

At  the  end  of  the  studio,  near  the  open  windows, 
Beryl  had  placed  the  plateau  basket  of  orchids  on  the 
table ;  and  she  stood  before  an  easel,  transferring  to 
the  surface  of  a  concave  brass  plaque,  the  fluted  out 
lines  of  the  scarlet  and  orange  ribbons,  the  vivid  green, 
purple  and  golden-brown  lips,  the  rose  velvet  cups,  the 
tender  canary-hued  calyxes  of  the  glistening  floral 
mass,  whose  aroma  seemed  a  panting  breath  from 
eq  a  atonal  jungles.  Having  secured  the  strange  forms 
of  these  vegetable  simulacra  of  the  insect  world,  she 
replaced  the  sheathing  of  tissue  paper  around  the 
gorgeous  mosaic  of  color ;  and  just  then,  Sister  Joanna 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  553 

threw  open  the  door,  and  ushered  in  a  party  of  visitors, 
consisting  of  two  gentlemen  and  a  lady.  One  was  Mr. 
Kendall,  a  member  of  the  Chapter  of  Trustees. 

"  Good  evening,  Sister.  Bishop  Douglass,  of  our 
State,  and  Miss  Gordon,  from  the  South.  I  have  been 
boasting  to  them  of  the  perfect  success  of  the  '  Anchor 
age',  as  an  industrial  institution.  Will  you  show  us 
some  of  the  work  done  in  this  department  ?" 

As  on  a  swiftly  revolving  wheel,  Beryl  saw  the  black 
eyes  and  gold-rimmed  spectacles  of  Leighton  Douglass; 
the  shield-shaped  amethyst  ring  on  his  broad,  white 
hand  ;  the  slender  figure  by  his  side,  draped  in  some 
soft  brown  tint  of  surah  silk,  the  blond  hair,  the  wide, 
startled  hazel  eyes  of  Leo,  who  made  a  step  forward, 
then  paused  irresolute. 

The  gaze  of  the  visitors  was  fastened  upon  the  superb 
form  wearing  the  gray  garb  of  flannel,  with  snowy 
fluted  frills  at  the  rounded  wrists  and  throat,  and  a 
ruffled  white  muslin  mob  cap  crowning  rich  waves  of 
bronze  hair,  that  framed  a  beautiful  pale  face,  whose 
grey  eyes  kept  always  the  soft  shadow  of  their  long 
jet  lashes. 

Only  half  a  minute  sufficed  to  gird  Beryl,  and  with  no 
hint  of  recognition  in  her  tranquil  countenance,  she 
moved  forward,  opened  the  drawers,  and  spread  out  for 
inspection  various  specimens  of  drawing  and  painting, 
in  all  stages  of  advancement. 

A  crimson  tide  overflowed  Leo's  cheeks,  but  accept 
ing  the  cue  of  silence,  she  refrained  from  any  mani 
festation  of  previous  acquaintance ;  and  bending  over 
the  pictures,  listened  to  the  grave,  sweet  voice  that 
briefly,  though  courteously  answered  all  inquiries  con 
cerning  the  school,  hours  of  classes,  tuition  fees,  re 
munerative  rates  paid  for  designs  for  carpets,  wall 
papers  and  decorative  upholstering.  Unrolling  from 


554  AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

a  wooden  cylinder  a  strip  of  thick  paper,  t\vo  yards 
long-  and  twenty  inches  wide,  she  displayed  an  elab 
orate  arabesque  pattern  done  in  sepia  for  a  syraffitn 
frieze,  sixteenth  century,  which  had  been  ordered  by 
the  architect  of  the  new  "  Museum  of  Art ". 

"  A  bit  of  your  favorite  Florentine  fagadc, "  said  the 
Bishop,  addressing  his  cousin,  and  peering  closely  at 
the  scroll  work. 

"  In  this  corner  of  the  world,  one  scarcely  expects  a 
glimpse  of  Andrea  Feltrini,"  answered  Leo,  avoiding 
the  necessity  of  looking  at  Beryl,  by  glancing  at  Mr. 
Kendall. 

"  What  are  your  sources  of  information  ?"  inquired 
Bishop  Douglass. 

"  We  have  a  carefully  selected  collection  of  engrav 
ings,  and  a  few  good  sketches  and  cartoons  ;  moreover, 
some  of  our  Sisterhood  have  been  in  Italy." 

In  attempting  to  roll  the  strip,  it  slipped  from  her 
fingers.  Both  women  stooped  to  catch  it,  and  their 
hands  met.  Looking  into  Leo's  eyes,  Beryl  whis 
pered:  "See  me  alone."  Then  she  rewound  the 
paper,  restored  its  oil  silk  cover,  and  shut  the 
drawer. 

"Do  you  find  that  the  demand  for  purely  orna 
mental  work  renders  this  department  self-sustaining  ?" 
asked  Leighton  Douglass. 

"  I  think  the  experience  of  the  '  Anchorage  '  justi 
fies  that  belief ;  especially  since  the  popularization  of 
so-called  'Decorative  Art',which  projects  the  useful  into 
the  realm  of  the  beautiful ;  and  by  lending  the  grace 
of  ornament  to  the  strictly  utilitarian,  dims  the  old 
line  of  demarcation/' 

"We  are  particularly  interested  in  acquiring  accu 
rate  knowledge  on  this  subject,  because  Miss  Gordon 
hopes  to  establish  a  similar  institution  near  her  home 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  555 

in  the  South ;  where  so  many  of  our  countrywomen, 
rendered  destitute  in  consequence  of  the  late  war,  need 
training  which  will  enable  them  to  do  faithful  remun 
erative  work,  without  compromising  their  feminine  re 
finement.  While  in  Europe  she  inspected  various  in 
dustrial  organizations;  saw  Kaiserswerth,  and  the 
Training  Schools  for  Nurses,  even  the  Swedish 
'  Nads  Slojd  *,  and  her  visit  here  is  solely  to  verify  the 
flattering  accounts  she  has  received  of  the  success  of 
the  eclectic  system  of  the  '  Anchorage'.  The  South  is 
so  rich  in  fine  materials  that  appear  to  offer  a  pre 
mium  for  carving,  that  we  wish  to  investigate  this 
branch  of  'decorative'  labor,  and  hope  you  can  help  us 
by  some  practical  suggestions." 

"  Within  the  past  twelve  months,  we  have  com 
menced  the  experiment  of  wood  work ;  make  all  the 
utensils  we  need,  and  one  of  our  patrons  secured  for  us 
some  models  from  the  school  you  mentioned  near  Go 
thenburg.  As  yet,  we  have  received  only  two  or 
ders  ;  one  for  a  base  in  walnut  for  a  baptismal  font;  the 
other  an  oak  triptych  frame  for  a  choir  in  a  Minnesota 
church.  The  carving  is  a  distinct  branch,  that  does 
not  belong  to  my  department ;  but  if  you  will  knock 
at  the  arched  door  on  the  right  hand  side  of  the  hall, 
Sister  Katrina,  who  has  charge  of  that  work,  will  take 
pleasure  in  exhibiting  the  process.  Mr.  Kendall 
knows  the  '  Anchorage '  so  well,  he  needs  no  guide  to 
the  work-rooms.  Permit  me  to  offer  you  some  copies 
of  our  new  prospectus,  and  also  a  photograph  of  this 
building,  as  a  slight  souvenir  of  your  visit  here." 

She  fitted  papers  and  picture  into  a  square  envelope 
stamped  with  an  anchor  in  red  ink,  and  handing  it  to 
Miss  Gordon,  walked  to  the  door  and  opened  it.  On 
the  threshold  Leo  turned,  and  looked  intently  into  her 
face: 


556  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"  Are  you  sufficiently  at  leisure  to  allow  me  a  little 
further  conversation  this  afternoon  ;  or  shall  I  call 
again?" 

"  I  am  entirely  at  your  service,  and  shall  gladly  fur 
nish  any  information  you  may  desire.  Our  matron  has 
placed  my  time  at  your  disposal." 

"Mr.  Kendall,  if  you  will  kindly  accompany  the 
Bishop  to  the  wood-carving  room,  I  can  remain  here  a 
little  while,  to  ask  Sister  some  questions,  which  would 
scarcely  interest  you  gentlemen.  I  will  join  you  there, 
very  soon.  Leighton,  please  get  an  estimate  of  the 
cost  of  the  necessary  outfit,  and  talk  with  Mr.  Kendall 
concerning  the  feasibility  of  sending  one  of  our  women 
here  for  a  year." 

Closing  the  door,  Beryl  put  out  both  hands,  and  took 
Leo's.  She  stood  a  moment,  holding  them  in  a  tight 
clasp. 

"  Thank  you,  for  considerately  withholding  a  recog 
nition  that  would  have  embarrassed  me.  I  hoped  that 
the  habit  of  our  Order  would  in  some  degree  disguise 
me,  yet,  at  a  glance  you  knew  me." 

"  Shall  I  infer  that  your  history  is  unknown  here  ?" 

"  Sister  Ruth,  our  Matron,  is  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  my  past  life,  but  she  kindly  respects  my  sorrows 
and  deems  it  unnecessary  to  publish  the  details  among 
the  Sisterhood.  Do  you  know  me  so  little,  that  you 
imagine  I  am  capable  of  abusing  the  confidence  of  the 
head  of  an  establishment,  which  mercifully  shelters  an 
outcast?" 

She  stepped  back,  and  motioned  her  visitor  to  a  seat 
near  the  balcony. 

"  I  should  be  very  reluctant  to  ascribe  any 
unworthy  motive  to  you ;  therefore  I  fail  to 
understand  why  you  desire  to  preserve  your  incognito, 
especially  since  the  signal  vindication  of  your  innocence. 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  557 

The  news  of  the  extraordinary  discovery  of  the  picture 
on  the  glass,  and  of  your  complete  acquittal,  even  of 
suspicion,  gave  me  so  much  pleasure  that  I  should  have 
written  you  my  hearty  congratulations,  had  I  been  able 
to  obtain  your  address." 

"  I  felt  assured  you  would  rejoice  with  me  ;  and  be 
cause  I  hold  your  good  opinion  so  valuable,  let  me  say 
that  my  happiness  in  the  unexpected  vindication  of 
my  character  was  enhanced  by  the  proud  consciousness 
that  in  your  estimation  I  needed  none.  When  the 
blackness  of  an  intolerable  shame  overshadowed  me, 
you  groped  your  way  to  the  dungeon,  and  held  out  your 
hands  in  confidence  and  sympathy.  All  the  world  sus 
pected  ;  you  trusted  me.  You  offered  your  noble  name 
as  bond,  and  made  a  place  for  me  at  your  own  sacred 
hearthstone.  Do  you  think  I  can  ever  forget  the  bless 
edness  of  the  balm  that  your  faith  in  me  poured  into 
my  crushed,  despairing  heart?  Do  you  doubt  that  no 
sun  sets,  without  seeing  me  on  my  knees,  praying 
God's  blessing  of  perfect  happiness  for  you  ?  What 
would  I  not  do — what,  would  I  not  suffer — to  secure 
your  peace,  and  to  prove  my  gratitude  ?" 

Her  voice  vibrated  like  the  silver  string  of  a  deep 
violoncello,  and  Leo,  gazing  up  into  the  misty  splendor 
of  the  beautiful  sad  eyes,  ceased  to  wonder  at  the  fas 
cination  which  she  had  exerted  over  Mr.  Dunbar.  Un 
intentionally  this  woman's  face  had  marred  her  life;  had 
unwittingly  stolen  her  lover's  heart ;  yet  she  believed 
no  treachery  sullied  the  pure  perfection  of  the  soft  red 
lips,  and  Leo's  generous  nature  rose  above  the  narrow 
limits  of  ordinary  feminine  jealousy.  Had  she  doubted 
for  an  instant  the  theory  that  Beryl  was  heroically 
suffering  the  penalty  of  a  crime,  in  order  to  screen  her 
guilty  lover,  some  suspicion  of  the  truth  might  have 
dawned  upon  her. 


558  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"  Suppose  I  intend  to  put  your  gratitude  to  the  test? 
You  have  exaggerated  the  debt  which  you  acknowl 
edge  ;  are  you  prepared  to  cancel  it  ?  If  I  say  to  you, 
because  I  believed  in  you,  trusted  you,  will  you  repay 
me  now,  by  granting  a  favor  which  I  shall  ask  ?" 

' '  I  think  Miss  Gordon  could  express  no  wish  that  I 
would  not  gladly  execute,  in  order  to  promote  her  hap 
piness." 

"  Will  you  come  back  to  X and  help  me  to  es 
tablish  a  home  for  women,  who  are  destitute  alike  of 
money  and  of  family  ties  ?  When  you  preside  over  it 
I  shall  be  haunted  by  no  fears  of  failure.  Once,  I  gave 
you  my  sympathy  ;  now,  when  I  need  help,  will  you 
give  me  yours  ?" 

Beryl  shivered,  and  looked  wonderingly  at  her  com 
panion.  Was  she  indeed  so  unsuspicious  of  t-he  quick 
sand  on  which  stood  the  fair  temple  of  her  hopes  in 
marriage  ? 

"  O,  Miss  Gordon !  That  is  the  one  thing,  m  all 
the  world,  that  for  your  sake  as  well  as  mine,  1  rould 
never  do.  No,  no  ;  impossible." 

"Why,  not  for  my  sake,  since  I  desire  it  so  ear 
nestly  ?" 

A  bright  flush  had  risen  in  Leo's  cheeks,  and  ^he 
threw  back  her  small  head  challengingly. 

For  a  moment  Beryl  wavered.  Could  she  bear  fx> 
wound  that  proud  spirit  ? 

"  Go  back  to  X ?  To  X !  It  would  be  a  re 
newal  of  my  martyrdom,  and  I  should  only  be  a  stum 
bling  block  in  the  scheme  you  contemplate.  You  do 
not  understand,  perhaps ;  but  believe  me,  I  prove  my 
gratitude  by  refusing  your  kind  offer." 

"  I  think  I  understand ;  and  if  I  am  willing  to  run  the 
risk,  what  then  ?" 

"  Do  not  ask  of  me  the  impossible.     The  very  at- 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  559 

mosphere  of  X would  numb  me,  destroy  all  capa 
bility  of  usefulness,  by  reviving- harrowing  memories." 

"  Had  not  every  shadow  of  suspicion  vanished,  and 
the  entire  community  manifested  delight  in  your  tri 
umphant  innocence,  I  should  never  have  suggested  a 
return  to  the  scene  of  your  sufferings.  Certainly,  I 
cannot  press  the  payment  of  a  debt,  which  you  volun 
teered  to  cancel ;  but  I  am  sorry  you  refuse  to  oblige 
me." 

There  was  a  starry  sparkle  in  the  soft  hazel  eyes, 
and  an  involuntary  and  unconscious  hardening  of  her 
lips,  as  Leo  rose. 

"  It  is  hard,  Miss  Gordon,  to  be  always  misunder 
stood  ;  but  sometimes  duty  points  to  lines  that  subject 
us  to  harsh  and  bitter  censure.  I  bear  ever  a  heavy 
burden ;  do  not  increase  my  load  by  condemning  me 
as  ungrateful.  God  knows,  you  hold  a  warm  and  a 
holy  place  in  my  heart,  and  your  happiness  is  more  to 
me  than  my  own  ;  yet  the  one  thing  you  ask,  my  con 
science  forbids." 

"  How  long  have  you  been  here  ?" 

"  It  will  be  two  years  to-morrow,  since  I  entered 
these  peaceful  walls." 

"  Then  your  probation  ends,  and  you  become  per 
manently  a  Sister  of  the  '  Anchorage  '  ?" 

"Not  yet.  I  have  been  permitted  to  earn  my  daily 
bread  here,  upon  conditions  somewhat  at  variance  with 
the  regulations  that  usually  govern  the  institution. 
I  have  not  applied  for  admission  to  permanent  mem 
bership,  because  my  stay  is  contingent  upon  circum 
stances,  which  may  call  me  hence  to-morrow ;  which 
may  never  arise  to  beckon  me  away.  Sister  Ruth 
generously  allows  me  the  latitude  of  choice  ;  not  for 
my  own  sake,  but  for  that  of  a  friend,  whose  influence 
secured  my  admission.  After  a  while,  when  I  have 


560  AT   THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

finished  my  work,  I  hope  to  come  back  ;  to  spend  the 
residue  of  my  earthly  days,  and  to  die  here,  a  faithful 
Umilta  Sister  of  the  '  Anchorage  ',  which  opened  its 
arms  when  I  was  a  needy  and  desolate  waif." 

11  The  peace  of  your  new  life  is  certainly  reflected  in 
your  face.  Patience  has  had  its  perfect  work;  and 
that  '  peace  that  passeth  all  understanding '  is  the  re 
ward  granted  you." 

Leo  held  out  her  hand,  and  Beryl  took  it  between 
both  hers. 

"  Dear  Miss  Gordon,  grapes  yield  no  wine  until  they 
are  crushed,  trampled,  bereft  of  bloom,  of  rounded 
symmetry,  of  beautiful  color;  but  the  Lord  of  the 
Vineyard  is  entitled  to  His  own.  I  was  a  very  proud, 
self-reliant  girl,  impatient  of  poverty,  daringly  ambi 
tious  ;  and  what  I  deemed  a  cruel  fate,  threw  me  into 
the  vat,  to  be  trodden  under  foot.  It  may  be,  that 
when  the  ferment  ends,  and  time  mellows  all,  the  purple 
wine  of  my  bruised  and  broken  life  may  be  accounted 
worthy  the  seal  of  a  sacramental  sacrifice.  I  have 
ceased  to  question,  to  struggle,  to  plan.  Like  a  blind 
child,  fearing  to  stumble  into  ruin,  I  stand,  and  stretch 
out  my  hands  to  Him,  who  has  led  me  safely  through 
deep  waters,  along  frightful  gorges.  Each  day  brings 
its  work,  which  I  strive  worthily  to  accomplish ;  but 
my  aim  is  to  lay  my  heart,  mind,  soul,  my  stubborn 
will,  all  in  God's  hands.  You  think  peace  the  suminum 
bonum  ?  Sometimes  we  obtain  it  by  an  ignominious 
surrender,  when  we  should  possess  it  by  conquest. 
*  Peace  of  mind  is  a  beautiful  and  heavenly  thing;  but 
even  peace  of  mind  may  become  an  idol ;  and  there  is 
perhaps  no  idol  to  which  women  bow  down  more  pas 
sionately/  For  this  reason,  I  am  waiting  for  tlie  drum 
beat  of  duty,  and  my  march  may  begin  at  any  moment. 
I  asked  to  see  you  alone,  in  order  to  beg  that  you  will 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF   TIBERIUS.  561 

increase  my  debt  of  obligations,  by  promising  to  re 
veal  to  no  one  the  place  of  my  retreat.  Accident 
has  betrayed  to  you  that  which  I  am  anxious  to  keep 
secret;  and  I  trust  you  will  tell  no  one  where  you  met 
me." 

11  Why  should  you  hide,  as  though  you  were  a  culprit  ? 
You  have  been  so  completely  exonerated  from  the  im 
putation  of  guilt  which  once  hung  over  you,  that  you 
owe  it  to  yourself  to  front  the  gaze  of  the  world  fear 
lessly.  What  have  you  to  dread  ?" 

"  The  failure  of  something,  which,  though  its  accom 
plishment  costs  me  very  dear,  I  shall  not  relax  my 
efforts  to  promote.  I  am  trying  to  be  loyal  to  my 
duty,  even  when  the  command  is  to  strangle  my 
own  weak  heart.  You  do  not,  cannot  understand. 
God  grant  you  never  will.  There  are  reasons  why 
it  is  best  for  me  to  live  in  strict  seclusion,  for  the  pres 
ent.  Those  reasons  I  can  explain  neither  to  you,  nor 
to  any  other  human  being  ;  and  yet,  I  ask  you  to  re 
spect  them,  and  to  keep  my  secret.  You  trusted  me  in 
the  terrible  exigencies  of  the  past ;  and  you  must  trust 
me  now,  for — oh  !  God  knows — I  do  indeed  deserve 
your  confidence." 

She  raised  the  hand  folded  hi  her  own,  and  bowed 
her  head  upon  it. 

•'You  have  my  promise.  Without  your  permission, 
I  will  mention  our  meeting  to  no  one.  I  trust  you ; 
and  perhaps  if  you  would  trust  me,  I  might  render  you 
some  aid." 

"  The  day  may  come,  when  I  can  find  it  compatible 
with  duty  to  tell  you  the  secret  of  my  life.  In  future 
years,  when  you  are  a  happy  wife,  I  shall  by  God's 
help  be  able  to  seek  you  and  your  husband,  and  thank 
you  both  for  many  kindnesses.  I  pray  that  you  may 
be  as  happy  as  you  deserve." 


562  AT   THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

There  was  no  tremor  in  the  voice  that  answered 
quickly. 

"If  you  refer  to  Mr.  Dunbar,  you  have  been  led 

astray  by  the  gossip  in  X .  Once,  there  seemed  a 

probability  that  our  lives  might  be  united ;  but  long 
ago,  we  found  that  ardent  friendship  could  not  take  the 
place  of  love ;  and  rather  more  than  three  years  have 
passed  since  we  have  even  seen  each  other." 

With  a  startled  movement  Beryl  dropped  her  com 
panion's  fingers,  and  laid  a  hand  on  her  shoulder. 

"Oh  !  do  not  tell  me,  that  you  have  broken  your 
engagement!" 

The  two  looked  steadily  at  each  other,  and  while 
Leo's  proud  face  gave  no  hint  of  pain  or  embarrass 
ment,  Beryl's  blanched,  quivered. 

"How  did  you  know  that  any  engagement  ever 
existed?" 

"All  X knew  it.  Mrs.  Singleton  and  Sister 

Serena  told  me." 

"I  dissolved  that  engagement  before  I  went  to 
Europe." 

"  Then  you  rashly  wrecked  your  beautiful  future. 
Why  did  you  cast  him  off  ?  He  would  have  made  you 
happy  ;  he  is  worthy,  I  think,  even  of  you." 

1 '  Yes,  he  is  worthy,  I  believe,  of  any  woman  whom 
he  may  really  love;  but  my  happiness  is  not  in  his 
keeping,  and  my  future  holds,  I  trust,  something 
much  brighter  than  our  marriage  would  have  proved 
to  me." 

"You  have  thrown  away  the  substance  for  the 
shadow.  Before  it  is  too  late,  reconsider  your  decision  ; 
give  him  an  opportunity  to  reinstate  himself  in  your 
affection.  You  have  both  been  so  kind  to  me,  that  I 
have  hoped  you  would  find  life  long  happiness  in  each 
other." 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  563 

"  Dismiss  that  delusion.  His  path  and  mine  diverge 
more  and  more,  and  we  no  longer  dwell  in  the  same 
State.  He  has  inherited  a  large  amount  of  property 
in  Louisiana,  and  now  lives  in  New  Orleans  ;  hence  you 
can  readily  perceive  how  far  apart  the  currents  of  our 
lives  have  drifted.  I  rejoice  in  my  freedom ;  and  he, 
I  suspect,  is  not  inconsolable  for  my  loss." 

Through  Beryl's  whirling  brain  darted  the  recollec 
tion  of  a  rumor,  that  Leighton  Douglass  was  suitor 
for  his  cousin's  hand  ;  and  that  Miss  Dent  favored  the 
alliance.  Was  the  solution  of  Miss  Gordon's  cold, 
calm  indifference  to  be  found  in  the  presence  and  de 
votion  of  the  Bishop  ?  Could  he  have  supplanted  Mr. 
Dunbar  in  her  affection  ?  Had  the  world  swung  from 
its  moorings  ?  What  meant  the  light  that  broke  upon 
her,  as  if  the  walls  of  heaven  had  fallen,  and  let  all  the 
glory  out  ? 

After  a  moment  she  said ,  solemnly  : 

*  *  I  pray  God  to  overrule  all  earthly  things,  for  your 
welfare,  for  your  heart's  truest  happiness  ;  and  for  the 
realization  of  your  dearest  hopes.  When  my  mission 
has  been  accomplished,  and  duty  lifts  her  seal  from  my 
lips,  I  may  try  to  see  you  once  more,  and  explain  the 
necessity  that  forced  me  to  seek  seclusion." 

"  I  believe  I  understand  ;  and  I  trust  your  reward 
will  not  be  delayed.  You  and  I  can  lean  with  confi 
dence  upon  the  wisdom  and  the  mercy  of  the  God  we 
worship ;  but  each  must  serve  out  His  appointed  time 
of  bondage  in  the  Egypt  of  suffering,  in  the  famine  of 
the  desert;  and  must  drink  at  Marah,  before  the  blessing 
of  the  manna,  the  grapes  of  Eshcol,  the  roses  of  Sharon. 
If  ever  you  should  need  an  earthly  friend,  remember 
me ;  and  if  all  other  refuge  fail  you,  my  home  can 
be  always  yours." 

Hand  in  hand  they  walked   to  the  door,  and  Leo 


564  AT  THE  MEBCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

pitied  the  future  of  this  woman,  whose  lover  was  a 
wandering-  outlaw,  with  a  price  set  upon  his  head  ;  and 
beneath  her  gray  flannel  habit,  Beryl's  heart  was  torn 
with  conflicting-  emotions,  as  she  watched  the  placid, 
proud  face,  that  showed  no  vestige  of  the  storm  of 
disappointment  which  had  stranded  her  sweetest  hope 
in  life. 

"Good-bye,  Beryl;  God  keep  you  in  His  tender 
care." 

"  Good-bye,  dear  Miss  Gordon.  I  will  pray  for 
your  happiness,  so  long  as  I  live." 

She  stooped,  drew  Leo's  hands  to  her  face,  pressed 
her  trembling  lips  twice  upon  them ;  then  turned 
quickly,  and  locked  herself  in  the  studio. 

Is  it  true,  that  "Orestes  and  Py lades  have  no 
sisters?" 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

A  PERSIAN  proverb  tells  us  :  "A  stone  that  is 
fit  for  the  wall  is  not  left  in  the  way."  Strong 
artistic  aspirations  will  plough  through  arid  sands, 
leap  across  bottomless  chasms,  toil  over  bristling  ob 
stacles,  climb  bald,  freezing  crags  to  reach  that  shin 
ing  plateau,  where  "  beauty  pitches  her  tents",  and 
the  Ideal  beckons.  Favorable  environment  is  the 
steaming  atmosphere  that  fosters,  forces  and  develops 
germs  which  might  not  survive  the  struggle  against 
adverse  influences,  in  uncongenial  habitat ;  but  na 
ture  moulds  some  types  that  attain  perfection  through 
perpetual  elementary  warfare  which  hardens  the 
fibre,  and  strengthens  the  hold  ;  as  in  those  invincible 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  565 

alga3  towering1  in  the  stormy  straits  of  Tierra  del 
Fuogo,  swept  from  Antartic  homes  toward  the  equator, 
—defying-  the  fierce  flail  of  surf  that  pulverizes  rock 
"  Breed  is  stronger  than  pasture" ;  and  no  matter  hov 
savage  a  step-mother  the  circumstances  of  life  may 
prove,  the  inherited  psychological  strain  will  some 
times  dominate,  and  triumph.  According  to  the  Tal 
mud  :  "  A  myrtle,  even  in  a  desert,  remains  a 
myrtle". 

From  her  tenth  year,  Beryl  had  begun  to  build  her 
castle  in  the  Spain  of  Art ;  daubed  its  walls  with  won 
derful  frescoes,  filled  its  echoing  corridors  with  heroic 
men   and  lovely    women    of    the  classic  ages ;    and 
through  its  mullioned  windows  looked  into  an  en 
chanted  land,  clothed  with  that  witching  "  light  that 
never  was  on  sea  or  land  ".     When  all  else  on  earth 
was  sombre  and  dun-hued,  sunlight  and  moonlight  still 
gilded   those   magical    towers.      In    darkest    nights, 
through  hissing   rain  and  hurtling  hail,  she  caught 
the  glitter  of  its  starry  vanes  smiling  through  murki- 
ness,  and  above  the  wail  and  sob  of  the  storms  that  had 
swept  over  the  waste  places  of  her  youth,  she  heard 
the  divine  melodies  which  the  immortal  harper,  Hope, 
played  always  in  the  marvellous  palace  of  the  Muses. 
In  early  girlhood  she  had  followed  her  father  into 
the  solemn  mysteries  of  Greek  Tragedy  ;  and  in  that 
vast  white  temple  dedicated  to  the  inexorable  Fates, 
where  predestined  victims  moved  like  marble  images  to 
their  immolation,  her  own  plastic  nature  had    been 
moulded  in  unison  with  the  classic  cult.     Among  the 
throng  of  Attic  types,  an  immortal  statue  of  filial  devo 
tion  and  sisterly  love  had  attracted  her  irresistibly,  and 
to  Antigone  she  rendered  the  homage  of  a  boundless 
admiration,  an  unwavering  fealty. 
Intellectually,   humanity  cleaves  to  idolatry ;  and 


566  AT  THE  MERC\    OF  TIBERIUS. 

each  of  us  worships  in  the  Pantheon,  where  our  favor 
ite  divinities  in  literature  crowd  the  niches.  To  be 
come  a  skilful  artist,  and  paint  the  portrait  of  Anti 
gone,  was  the  ambition  that  had  shaped  and  colored 
Beryl's  young  dreams,  long  ere  she  suspected,  that  a 
mournful  parallelism  in  fate  would  consign  her  to  a 
living  tomb  more  intolerable  than  that  devised  by 
Theban  Creon. 

Our  grandest  pictures,  statues,  poems,  are  not  tho 
canvas,  the  marble,  the  bronze,  and  the  gilded  vel 
lum,  that  the  world  handles,  criticises,  weighs,  buys 
and  sells,  accepts  with  praise,  or  rejects  with  ana 
thema.  Invisible  and  inviolate,  imagination  keeps  our 
best,  our  ideals,  locked  in  the  cerebrum  cells  of  "  grey 
matter",  which  we  are  pleased  to  call  our  workshop. 

What  art  gallery,  what  library  can  rival  the  sub 
lime  and  beautiful  images  that  crowd  the  creased  and 
folded  labyrinth  of  the  human  brain;  as  far  beyond  the 
ken  and  analysis  of  the  biologist's  microscope,  as  some 
remote  nebulae  shining  in  blue  gulfs  of  interstellar 
space,  that  no  telescopic  lense  can  ever  discover,  even 
as  a  faint  blur  of  silvery  mist  upon  the  black  velvet 
vault  that  suns  and  planets  spangle  ? 

In  some  degree,  Beryl's  artistic  dream  had  been  re 
alized  ;  and  the  study  of  years  slowly  flowered  into  a 
large  painting,  which  represented  Antigone  standing 
beside  the  heap  of  dust,  strewn  reverently  to  sepul 
chre  the  form  dimly  outlined  at  her  feet.  The  sullen 
red  sunset  of  a  tempestuous  day  flared  from  the  hori 
zon,  across  a  desolate  plain  ;  showed  the  city  walls  in 
the  background,  the  hungry  vultures  poised  high  above 
the  dead,  the  marauding  dogs  crouched  in  the  wind 
swept  sand,  watching  their  banquet,  decreed  by  th43 
king.  The  dust  had  been  scattered  from  a  black  vase 
that  bore  on  its  front,  in  a  circular  medallion,  the  lurid 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  567 

head  of  grinning  Hecate;  and  the  last  rite  to  appease 
the  unquiet  manes  was  performed  by  the  uplifted  right 
arm  that  poured  libations  from  a  burnished  brass  urn, 
held  aloft  over  the  pall  of  earth  that  defined  the  figure 
beneath.  The  left  hand  was  stretched,  not  heavenward, 
but  shieldingly  over  the  mound,  and  in  the  beautiful, 
stern  face  bent  a  little  downward  in  invocation  of  the 
infernal  gods,  one  read  sublime  self-surrender,  grief 
for  GEdipus,  regret  for  Haemon,  farewell  to  life, — 
mingled  with  exultant  consciousness  that  a  successful 
sacrifice  had  been  accomplished  for  Polynices,  and  that 
the  spirit  of  the  brother  rested  in  peace. 

The  soul  of  the  artist  seemed  to  look  triumphantly 
through  the  solemn,  purplish  blue  eyes  of  the  young 
martyr,  and  Beryl  knew  that  her  own  heart  beat  under 
the  painted  folds  of  the  diploidion;  that  she  had  epito 
mized  in  a  symbolic  picture,  the  history  of  her  own 
joyless  youth. 

The  canvas  had  been  framed  and  hung  at  the  art 
exhibition  of  the  new  "  Museum",  opened  in  Septem 
ber  ;  and  only  the  "  U  "  traced  in  one  corner  beneath 
an  anchor,  indicated  that  it  was  the  work  of  the 
Umilta  Sisters'  "Anchorage". 

The  public  peered,  puzzled,  shook  its  sapient  head, 
shrugged  its  authoritative  shoulders,  and  sundry  crit 
icisms  crept  into  the  journals ;  but  the  prophet  was 
judged  in  "  his  own  country";  and  home  work,  ac 
cording  to  universal  canons,  rarely  finds  favor  among 
home  awarding  committees,  whose  dulness  its  uncom- 
prehended  excellence  affronts. 

One  censured  vehemently  the  masonry  of  the  city 
wall ;  another  deplored  pathetically  the  "  defective 
foreshortening  of  a  dog's  shoulders";  the  picture 
"lacked  depth  of  tone";  the  "coloring  was  too  hi- 
ssarre  ";  the  "  tints  too  neutral". 


568  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

Like  chemicals  tested  in  a  laboratory,  or  like  Phar 
aoh's  lean  kine,  each  objection  devoured  the  preceding 
one  ;  and  unanimity  of  blame  assaulted  only  one  sali 
ent  point  on  the  entire  canvas  :  the  red  sandals  of  the 
Greek  girl — upon  which  outraged  good  taste  fell  with 
pitiless  fury. 

Undismayed,  Beryl  withdrew  her  picture,  erased 
the  ciphers  in  the  corner,  and  shipped  it  to  New  York 
(o  Doctor  Grantlin,  who  had  recently  returned  from 
Europe ;  requesting  him  to  place  it  at  a  picture 
dealer's  on  Broadway,  and  to  withhold  the  name  of 
its  birth-place. 

Two  weeks  later,  a  popular  journal  published  an 
elaborate  description  of  "  A  painting  supposed  to  have 
been  obtained  abroad  by  a  New  York  collector,  who 
merited  congratulation  upon  possession  of  a  master 
piece,  which  recalled  the  marvellous  technique  of 
Gerome,  the  atmosphere  of  Jules  Breton,  the  rich,  mel 
low  coloring,  and  especially  the  scrupulous  fidelity  of 
archaic  detail,  which  characterized  Alma  Tadema; 
and  was  conspicuously  manifest  in  the  red  shoes  so 
distinctively  typical  of  Theban  women". 

Mr.  Kendall  caused  this  article  to  be  copied  into  the 
leading  newspaper  of  his  own  city  ;  and  the  first  mail, 
thereafter,  carried  to  New  York  an  offer  of  eight  hun 
dred  dollars  for  the  painting,  from  the  President  of 
the  "  Museum  "  Directors,  who  had  been  so  shocked 
by  the  unknown  significance  of  the  "red  shoes". 
After  a  few  days,  it  was  generally  known,  but  men 
tioned  with  bated  breath,  that  the  "Antigone"  had 
been  bought  by  a  wealthy  Philadelphian,  who  paid 
for.il  two  thousand  dollars,  and  hung  it  in  his  gallery, 
•where  Fortunys,  Madrazos,  and  Diazs  ornamented  the 

Why  should  journeying  abroad  to  render  "Caesar's 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  569 

things  "  to  foreign  Caesars,  demand  such  total  bank 
ruptcy  that  we  must  needs  repudiate  the  just  debts 
of  home  creditors,  whose  chimneys  smoke  just  be 
yond  the  fence  that  divides  us  ?  De  mortuis  nil  nisi 
bonum  is  a  traditional  and  sacred  duty  to  departed 
workers;  but  does  it  exhaust  human  charity,  or  re 
quire  contemptuous  crusade  against  equally  honest,  liv 
ing  toilers  ?  Are  antiquity  and  foreign  birthplace  im 
peratively  essential  factors  in  the  award  of  praise  for 
even  faithful  and  noble  work  ?  We  lament  the  caus 
tic  moroseness  of  embittered  Schopenhauer,  brood 
ing  savagely  over  his  failure  to  secure  contempora 
neous  recognition ;  yet  after  all,  did  he  malign  his 
race,  or  his  age,  when,  in  answer  to  the  inquiry  where 
he  desired  to  be  buried,  he  scornfully  exclaimed :  "  No 
matter  where;  posterity  will  find  me." 

It  was  on  the  26th  of  October,  a  week  subsequent  to 
the  receipt  of  the  letter  which  contained  the  check  sent 
in  payment  for  the  picture,  that  Beryl  sat  down  on  the 
stone  sill  of  her  oriel  window,  to  rest  in  the  seclusion  of 
her  room,  after  the  labors  of  the  day. 

It  was  the  anniversary  of  her  ill-starred  visit  to 

X ,  and  melancholy  memories  had  greeted  her  at 

dawn,  clung  to  her  skirts,  chanted  their  dismal  refrain . 
and  renewed  the  pain  which  time  had  in  some  degree 
dulled.  Four  years  ago  she  had  felt  her  mother's 
feverish  lips  on  hers,  in  a  parting  kiss,  and  four  years 
ago  to-day  the  sun  of  her  girlhood  had  passed  sudden 
ly  into  total  eclipse.  Since  then,  moving  in  a  semi- 
twilight,  suffering  had  prematurely  aged  her,  and  she 
had  schooled  herself  to  expect  no  star,  save  that  of 
duty,  to  burn  along  her  lonely  path.  To-day,  she 
thought  of  the  pride  her  picture  would  have  aroused 
in  her  devoted  father  ;  of  the  comforts  the  money 


670  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

would  have  purchased  for  her  invalid  mother ;  of  the 
pleasure,  success  as  an  artist  would  have  brought  to 
her  own  ambitious  soul,  if  only  it  had  not  come  so  many 
years  too  late.  What  crown  could  fame  bring  to  one, 
dwelling-  always  in  the  chill  shadow  of  a  terrible 
shame  ?  The  glory  of  noble  renown  could  never  gild  a 
name  that  had  answered  at  the  convicts'  roll  call ;  a 
name  which,  at  any  moment,  Bertie's  arrest  might 
drag  back  to  the  disgrace  of  established  felony. 

Of  all  mocking  fiend,s,  the  arch  torturer  is  that  hand 
which  draws  aside  the  black  curtain  of  grim  actuality, 
and  shows  us  the  wonderful  realm  of  "  might  have 
been",  where  lost  hopes  blossom  eternally,  and  the 
witchery  of  hallowed  illusions  is  never  dispelled. 

Wearily  Beryl  closed  her  eyes,  as  though  the  white 
lids  availed  to  shut  out  visions,  tantalizing  as  the 
dream  of  bubbling  springs,  and  palm-fringed  isles  of 
dewy  verdure,  to  the  delirious  traveller  dying  of  thirst, 
in  the  furnace  blasts  of  mid-desert. 

If  she  had  defied  her  mother's  wishes,  and  refused 

to  go  to  X ?  How  different  the  world  would  seem 

to  her ;  but,  what  was  a  world  worth,  that  had  never 
known  Mr.  Dunbar  ? 

Over  burning  ploughshares  she  had  walked  to  meet 
one  destined  to  stir  to  its  depths  the  slumbering  sea  of 
her  tenderest  love  ;  and  to  forego  the  pain,  would  she 
relinquish  the  recompense  ? 

During  the  months  that  elapsed  after  Leo's  visit  to 
the  "  Anchorage",  Beryl  had  surrendered  her  heart  to 
the  great  happiness  of  dwelling,  unrebuked  by  con 
science,  upon  the.  precious  assurance  that  the  love  of 
the  man  whom  she  had  so  persistently  defied  and  shun 
ned,  was  irrevocably  hers.  The  sharpest  pain  that 
can  harrow  womanhood,  springs  from  the  contempla 
tion  of  the  superior  light  of  another  to  the  object  of 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  571 

her  affection ;  and  though  honor  coerces  submission  to 
the  just  claims  of  a  rival,  renunciation  of  the  beloved 
entails  pangs,  that  no  anaesthetic  has  power  to  quiet. 

After  the  long  struggle  to  aid  Miss  Gordon's  accept 
ed  lover  in  keeping  his  vows  of  loyalty,  the  discovery 
of  his  freedom,  and  the  belief  that  Bishop  Douglass  had 
supplanted  him  in  the  affection  of  her  generous  bene 
factress,  had  brought  to  Beryl  an  exquisite  release  ; 
sweet  as  the  spicy  breath  of  the  tropics  wafted  sudden 
ly  to  some  stranded,  frozen  Arctic  voyager.  Heroic 
and  patient,  keeping  her  numb  face  steadfastly  turned 
to  the  pole  star  of  duty,  where  the  compass  of  conscience 
pointed — was  the  floe  ice  on  which  she  had  been  wreck 
ed,  drifting  slowly,  imperceptibly,  yet  surely  down  to 
the  purple  warmth  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  dotted  with 
swelling  sails  of  rescue  ?  Like  oceanic  streams  meet 
ing,  running  side  by  side,  freighted  with  cold  for  the 
equatorial  caldrons,  with  heat  for  the  poles,  are  not 
the  divinely  appointed  currents  of  mercy  and  of  afflic 
tion,  God's  agents  of  compensation,  to  equalize  the 
destinies  of  humanity  ? 

We  rail  at  Fate  as  triple  monsters ;  but  sometimes 
it  happens,  that  the  veil  of  inscrutability  floats  aside, 
for  an  instant,  and  we  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  radiant 
smile  of  an  infinite  love. 

Hope  had  set  in  Beryl's  skj",  but  a  tender  afterglow 
held  off  the  coming  night,  when  she  thought  of  the  face 
that  had  bent  so  yearningly  above  her,  of  the  passion 
ate  voice  and  the  thrilling  touch  that  were  now  her 
most  precious  memories.  The  pearl  which  Miss  Gor 
don  had  cast  away  as  worthless,  the  discharged  con 
vict  might  surely,  without  sin,  claim  as  her  own  for 
ever.  To-day  an  intense  longing  to  see  him  once 
more,  to  hear  from  his  lips  praise  of  her  "Antigone", 
disturbed  the  tranquillity  that  was  spreading  its  robes 


572  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

of  minever  over  a  stony  path  ;  but  she  put  aside  the 
temptation. 

To  the  Sisterhood  of  the  "  Anchorage  "  she  had  given 
one-half  the  proceeds  of  the  picture  sale:  and  the 
remainder  would  enable  her  at  last  to  renew  the  search 
for  her  unhappy  brother.  So  vague  were  the  topo 
graphical  lines  furnished  by  the  English  tourist,  that 
prosecuting  her  quest  in  the  remote  wilderness  of 
mountains,  which  wore  their  crown  of  snow,  seemed  a 
reckless  waste  of  hope,  time  and  money  ;  nevertheless, 
she  must  make  the  attempt.  She  knew  that  a  gigantic 
railway  system  was  crawling  like  an  anaconda  under 
rocky  ranges,  over  foaming  rivers,  stretching  its  sinu 
ous  steel  trail  from  Bay  of  Chaleur  to  Georgia  Gulf ; 
with  termini  that  saw  the  sun  rise  from  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  and  watched  its  setting  in  the  red  glory  of  the 
far  Pacific ;  and  perhaps  steam  shovels,  and  iron  tight 
ropes  might  furnish  her  facilities  on  her  long  journey. 

Winter  would  soon  overtake  her,  and  in  the  inhos 
pitable  region  where  her  brother  had  been  surprised  at 
his  prayers,  how  could  a  lonely  woman  travel  without 
protection  ?  Doubt,  apprehension  flitted  as  ill-boding 
birds  of  night,  flapping  dusky  wings  to  hide  the  signal 
beacon,  which  love  and  duty  swung  to  and  fro ;  yet 
the  yearning  to  see  her  brother's  face  again,  dwarfed 
all  barriers,  and  she  trusted  God's  guidance. 

On  a  chair  near  her,  lay,  on  this  afternoon,  a  map 
which  for  many  days  she  had  been  studying;  and 
opening  it  once  more,  she  ran  a  finger  along  the 
dotted  lines,  mentally  debating  whether  it  would  be 
best  to  go  by  rail  to  Ottawa,  by  water  to  Sault  St. 
Marie,  whence  the  new  railway  could  be  easily  reached, 
or  whether  the  most  direct  route  would  be  via  St.  Paul 
to  Winnepeg.  When  she  left  the  "  Anchorage",  her 
destination  must  remain  a  secret ;  hence  she  could  ask 


AT  THE  MERCT^  OF  TIBERIUS.  578 

no  counsel.  In  view  of  approaching  cold  weather,  econ 
omy  of  time  seemed  imperative ;  and  she  resolved  to 
buy  a  railway  ticket  to  Fargo,  where  she  could  elude 
suspicion,  should  the  threatened  invisible  detective 
"  shadow  "  her ;  and  whence  another  Pacific  highway 
offered  egress  to  western  wilds.  With  this  definite 
conclusion  she  closed  the  map,  and  a  moment  later, 
some  one  knocked  at  her  door. 

"  Come  in." 

She  went  forward,  and  met  Sister  Katrina,  a  robust 
dame  of  forty  years,  blond  as  Gerda  ;  with  the  "light 
of  the  glowworm's  tails  "  in  her  golden-lashed  violet 
eyes,  and  the  "  ruby  spots  of  the  cowslip's  leaves  "  on 
her  full,  frank  lips. 

"  Will  you  sit  a  while  with  me?  There  is  still  ,a. 
half  hour,  before  your  evening  work  begins  in  the 
carving  shop.  Come  in." 

"  I  am  sorry  I  have  not  time  now,  to  indulge  my 
self  in  such  luxury  as  a  chat  with  you  always  proves. 
I  came  to  beg  the  loan  of  your  India  ink  copy  of  the 
marble  screens  at  Agra  ;  which  I  have  an  idea  would 
be  very  effective  done  in  cherry,  for  the  panels  under 
the  new  bookcases  we  are  designing  for  the  library." 

"  The  copy  is  up  stairs  in  the  studio  ;  but  I  shall  be 
glad  to  get  it  for  you." 

"  No  ;  with  your  permission  I  can  help  myself,  and 
I  am  going  up  there  now,  for  some  red  chalk.  I  know 
exactly  where  to  find  the  picture,  because  I  was  ex 
amining  it  two  days  ago.  What  think  you  of  my 
idea?" 

"  I  am  afraid  you  will  find  cherry  too  dark.  A 
lighter  wood,  I  think,  would  be  better  adapted  to  the 
exceeding  delicacy  of  the  design." 

"  Wait  till  I  cut  out  a  sample  scroll,  and  we  will 
talk  it  over.  Sister  Ruth  asked  me  to  hand  to  you  this 


574  ,        AT   THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

paper,  which  contains  a  very  complimentary  notice  of 
your  lovely  picture.  I  read  it  as  I  came  up,  and  con 
gratulate  you  on  all  the  fine  things  said.  You 
scarcely  know  how  proud  we  feel  of  our  Sister's  work. 
Thanks  for  the  use  of  the  drawing." 

She  smiled,  nodded  and  closed  the  door ;  and  when 
her  bright,  cherry  countenance  vanished,  it  seemed  as 
though  a  film  of  cloud  had  drifted  across  the  sun. 

Beryl  went  back  to  a  low  chair  in  front  of  the  win 
dow,  and  opened  the  paper,  which  chanced  to  be  the 
New  York  "  Herald."  Unfolding  it  to  hunt  the  desig 
nated  article,  her  glance  fell  accidentally  upon  the 
personal  column.  Her  heart  leaped,  then  almost 
ceased  beating,  as  she  read : 

"  Important.  Bertie  will  meet  Gigina  in  the  Museum 
at  Niagara  Falls,  Canada  side,  any  day  during  the 
last  week  in  October." 

Two  years  and  a  half  had  almost  gone  by  since  she 
inserted  the  advertisement,  to  which  this  was  evi 
dently  a  reply.  Long  ago  she  had  ceased  to  expect 
any  tidings  through  this  channel ;  but  the  seed  sown 
in  faith,  watered  by  tears,  and  guarded  by  continual 
prayer  had  stirred  to  life  ;  blossomed  in  the  sunshine 
of  God's  pitying  smile,  and  after  weary  waiting,  the 
ripe  fruit  fell  at  her  feet.  How  fair  and  smooth,  rosy 
and  fragrant  it  appeared  to  her  famishing  heart? 
How  opportune  the  guiding  hand  that  pointed  her 
way,  when  cross  roads  baffled  her.  Two  days 
later,  she  would  have  been  journeying  away  from  the 
coveted  goal.  Now  the  tide  of  battle  was  turning. 
Had  the  stars  rolled  back  on  their  courses  to  rescue 
Sisera  ? 

How  long  the  happy  woman  sat  there,  exulting  in 
the  mellowness  of  the  perfect  fruit  of  patience,  she 
never  knew. 


AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS.  575 

Day  died  slowly;  the  vivid  crimson  and  dazzling 
gold  that  fired  the  West  were  reflected  in  the  tranquil 
bosom  of  the  lake,  faded  into  the  tender  pale  rose  of 
the  sacred  lotus,  into  the  exquisite  tints  that  gild  the 
outer  petals  of  a  daffodil,  the  heart  of  buttercups  ;  and 
then,  robed  in  faintest  violet  powdered  with  silvery 
dust,  the  vast  pinions  of  Crepuscule  spread  over  sky 
and  water,  fanning-  into  full  flame  the  glittering  sparks 
of  planets  and  constellations  that  lighted  the  chariot 
course  of  the  coming  moon. 

Across  the  sleeping  lake  hurried  a  north  wind,  on  its 
long  journey  to  blow  open  the  snowy  camellias  folded 
close  in  the  heart  of  the  South,  and  under  his  winged 
sandals  the  waters  crimped,  rippled,  swelled  into  wave 
lets  that  played  their  minor  adagio  in  nature's  nocturn, 
as  their  foam  fingers  fell  on  the  pebbles  that  fringed 
the  beach.  From  the  deck  of  a  schooner  anchored  of! 
shore,  floated  the  deep  voice  of  a  man  singing  Schubert's 
"Ave  Haria"\  and  far,  far  away  over  the  weird  waste 
of  waters,  where  a  buoy  marked  a  sunken  wreck,  its 
red  beacon  burned  like  the  eye  of  Polyphemus,  crouch 
ing  in  darkness,  watching  to  surprise  Galatea. 

The  penetrating  chill  of  the  night  air  aroused  Beryl 
from  her  profound  trance ;  and  lighting  the  gas  over  her 
dressing  table,  she  re-read  the  magical  words  that  had 
transformed  her  narrow  world.  This  was  Monday  the 
JGth,  and  next  Saturday  was  the  limit  of  the  proposed 
interview.  One  day  must  suffice  for  necessary  prepar 
ation,  and  starting  by  early  morning  express  on  Wed 
nesday,  she  would  arrive  in  time  to  keep  the  tryst  that 
involved  so  much.  She  cut  out  the  notice  that  was 
merely  a  sentence  in  the  page  of  social  hieroglyphics, 
where  no  key  fitted  more  than  one  paragraph,  and  for 
getting  the  criticism  on  her  picture,  she  went  swiftly 
down  stairs. 


676  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

The  members  of  the  Sisterhood  were  at  supper,  arid 
&he  waited  at  the  refectory  door  for  an  opportunity  to 
meet  the  matron. 

On  the  platform  raised  in  the  centre  of  the  long- 
room,  sat  the  reader  for  the  day,  Sister  Agatha ;  a 
plump,  florid  young  woman,  with  bright  black  eyes, 
and  a  voice  sweet  and  strong  as  the  flute  stop  of  an 
wgan.  The  selection  that  evening  had  been  from 
"  Agate  Windows"  and  "  Ice  Morsels",  and  the 
Closing  words  were : 

"Alpine  flowers  are  warmed  by  snow;  the  summer 
oeauty  of  our  hills,  and  the  autumn  fertility  of  our 
valleys,  have  been  caused  by  the  cold  embrace  of  the 
glacier ;  and  so,  by  the  chill  of  trial  and  sorrow,  are 
the  outlines  of  Christian  character  moulded  and  beau 
tified.  And  we,  who  recognize  the  loving  kindness  as 
well  as  the  power  of  God  in  what  may  seem  the  harsher 
and  more  forbidding  agencies  of  nature,  ought  not  to 
be  weary  and  faint  in  our  minds,  if  over  our  own  warm 
tmman  life,  the  same  kind  pitying  Hand  should  some 
times  cause  His  snow  of  disappointment  to  fall  like 
wool,  and  cast  forth  His  ice  of  adversity  like  morsels  ; 
knowing  that  even  by  these  unlikely  means,  shall  ulti 
mately  be  given  to  us  also,  as  to  nature,  the  beauty 
of  Sharon,  and  the  peace  of  Carmel !" 

Somewhere  in  the  apartment,  a  bell  tapped.  All 
rose,  and  each  head  in  the  gray  ranks  bowed,  while 
"thanks"  were  offered  ;  then  amid  a  subdued  mur 
mur  of  conversation,  the  Sisterhood  filed  out,  gathered 
in  groups,  separated  for  various  duties. 

•'  Sister  Ruth,  may  I  see  you  alone?"  asked  Beryl, 
Couching  her  arm  in  the  hall. 

"  This  is  the  night  for  the  examination  of  accounts, 
of  last  week's  expenses,  and  I  shall  be  busy  with  Sis 
ter  Elena,  our  book-keeper ;  moreover,  I  promised  to 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  577 

look  over  the  linen  closet  of  the  Infirmary,  with  Sistei 
Consuelo,  whose  demands  are  like  those  of  the  daughter 
or  the  horse-leech.  Is  your  business  urgent  ?" 

' '  Yes ;  but  I  will  not  detain  you  more  than  ten 
minutes." 

"  Very  well,  come  to  my  cabinet." 

The  place  designated  was  a  pigeon  box  in  size,  and 
adjoined  the  reception  room  on  the  first  floor.  Two 
desks  packed  with  papers,  three  chairs  and  a  picture 
of  Elijah  and  the  ravens,  constituted  the  furniture. 
The  matron  brightened  the  light,  seated  herself  and 
looked  at  her  companion. 

"Well.  What  can  I  do  for  you?  Why,  Sister? 
Something  has  happened;  your  face  is  all  aglow,  your 
eyes  are  great  stars." 

"  Yes  ;  a  heavy  burden  I  have  long  borne  is  slipping- 
from  my  heart,  and  after  the  pressure  it  rebounds.  I 
have  told  you  that  my  stay  here  was  contingent  on 
events  which  I  could  not  control ;  that  at  any  moment 
1  rcight  consider  it  incumbent  upon  me  to  go  away  into 
the  world  ;  therefore,  I  could  bind  myself  by  no  com 
pact  to  remain  permanently  in  the  *  Anchorage  '.  The 
time  has  come;  the  drum  taps,  I  must  march  away." 

"  And  you  are  so  glad  to  leave  us  ?"  said  the  matron, 
gazing  in  wonder  at  the  radiant  face,  usually  so  im 
passive  and  cold  with  its  locked  lips,  and  grave,  sad, 
downcast  eyes. 

•  "No,  glad  only  in  the  occasion  that  calls  me;  re 
gretting  that  duty  separates  me  temporarily  from  the 
Sisterhood,  who  so  mercifully  opened  their  arms,  when 
I  had  no  spot  in  all  the  wide  world  where  I  could  lay 
my  head,  but  the  sod  on  my  mother's  grave.  This 
blessed  haven  is  for  those  whose  first  duty  in  life  sum 
mons  them  nowhere  beyond  its  walls.  If  conscience 
bade  you  leave  these  peaceful  and  hallowed  hall«,  for 


678  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

work  far  more  difficult,  would  you  hesitate  to  obey  ? 
It  is  safer  and  less  arduous  to  keep  step  with  the  main 
army ;  but  some  must  perish  on  picket  duty,  and  is  the 
choice  ours,  when  an  order  details  us  ?" 

tf  Who  signed  your  order  ?" 

Sister  Ruth  took  off  her  spectacles,  and  bent  closer, 
with  a  keenness  of  scrutiny,  that  was  unflatteringly 
suspicious. 

"  My  dear  mother.'1 

"  I  understood  that  you  had  been  an  orphan  for 
years?" 

"  Yes,  for  four  wretched,  lonely  and  terrible  years ; 
but  no  tomb  is  deep  enough  to  shut  in  the  voice  that 
uttered  our  mother's  last  wishes ;  and  all  time  cannot 
hush  the  sound  of  the  command,  cannot  hide  the  be 
loved  hand  that  pointed  to  the  path  she  asked  us  to 
follow.  When  my  mother  kissed  me  good-bye,  she 
blessed  me,  because  of  a  promise  I  gave  her ;  and 
Heaven  means  to  me  the  place  where  I  can  look  into 
her  sainted  face,  and  tell  her  '  Hold  me  close  to  your 
tender  heart,  for  oh!  I  have  indeed  kept  my  word. 
Your  little  girl  obeyed  your  last  command.'  "  Her 
voice  trembled,  and  she  passed  one  hand  over  her  eyes 
for  an  instant. 

"  Sister  Ruth,  the  opportunity  has  arrived,  and  I  go 
to  execute  the  last  clause  of  a  sacred  order.  When  I 
ohall  have  finished  my  mission,  I  shall  want  to  come 
back  home.  Oh  !  you  see  ?  I  call  it  home.  For  where 
else  can  I  ever  have  a  home,  till  I  join  my  father  and 
mother  ?  If  I  should  come  back  and  ask  you  to  take  me 
for  the  remainder  of  my  life,  as  a  sister  worker,  will 
you  let  me  die  with  the  t  anchor '  on  my  breast  ?  I 
shall  be  as  worthy  of  your  confidence  then,  as  I  am 
now.'*' 

"  Where  are  you  going  ?" 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"  I  hoped  that  you  would  not  ask  me,  because  I  can 
not  tell  you  now.  Will  you  not  trust  me  ?"  • 

"  Your  extremely  cautious  reticence  makes  it  diffi 
cult  ;  and  I  have  always  known  that  some  distressing 
mystery  brought  you  here." 

*'  Confidence  that  defies  suspicious  appearances  is 
precious  indeed ;  but  confidence  that  crumbles  like 
Jericho's  walls  at  the  blast  of  Joshua's  trumpets,  is  as 
worthless  a  sham  as  a  cable  whose  strands  part  at  the 
first  taut  strain.  Sister  Ruth,  there  are  reasons  why 
I  go  away  alone,  to  an  unknown  destination;  and  I  am 
about  to  tax  your  trust  yet  more  severely,  when  I  tell 
you  that  I  need  the  disguise  of  the  '  Umilta  '  uniform. 
I  ask  your  permission  to  wear  it  during  my  absence." 

The  matron  shook  her  head. 

"  Surely,  Sister  Ruth,  you  cannot  think  it  possible 
that  I  should  bring  discredit  upon  this  dear  gray  flan 
nel,  which  I  hold  as  sacred  as  priestly  vestments  ?" 

She  laid  her  cheek  against  her  own  shoulder,  with  a 
caressing  motion,  and  passed  her  fingers  softly  across 
her  sleeve. 

"  My  young  sister,  to  some  extent  I  am  responsible 
for  those  who  wear  the  '  Umilta  '  gray.  If  I  allowed 
you  to  carry  our  badge  under  such  peculiar  circum 
stances  beyond  the  limits  of  my  supervision,  I  should 
hazard  too  much ;  should  deserve  the  severity  of  the 
censure  I  most  certainly  should  receive,  if  any  disaster 
brought  reproach  upon  our  spotless  record  as  an  insti 
tution.  It  was  not  designed  as  a  disguise  in  which  to 
masquerade  for  unknown  purposes." 

Beryl  put  up  both  hands,  pressing  her  pretty  white 
cap  close  to  her  ears ;  and  her  lips  trembled,  as  was 
their  wont,  when  she  was  wounded. 

"  Do  not  discrown  me.  My  father's  Beryl  will  never 
sully  your  pure  record  ;  and  it  would  be  as  impossible 


580  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

for  me  to  disgrace  your  uniform,  as  defile  my  mother's 
shroud.  Grant  me  the  protection  of  this  consecrated 
garb." 

"  No.  The  '  Anchorage  '  must  remain  as  heretofore, 
like  Ceesar's  wife." 

"  Although  I  have  lived  here  so  long,  how  little  you 
know  me." 

"Very  true,  my  Sister;  therefore,  as  custodian  of 
the  interests  of  our  little  community,  I  must  not  put 
them  in  jeopardy.  When  do  you  expect  to  take  your 
departure  ?" 

"  Wednesday,  at  6  A.M., on  the  express  for  New  York." 

*'  Have  you  received  letters  ?" 

"  No,  Sister.  Doctor  Grantlin  is  the  only  person 
who  writes  to  me,  and  as  his  letters  are  always  ad 
dressed  to  your  care,  I  receive  them  from  your 
hands." 

"  How  long  do  you  propose  to  stay  in  New  York  ?" 

"I  am  not  going  to  New  York,  and  I  know  not  how 
long  I  may  be  detained  ;  but  I  desire  to  return  without 
needless  delay." 

"  Then  you  want  your  money." 

"  Give  me  to-morrow  five  hundred  dollars,  and  keep 
the  remainder  until  I  come,  or  until  you  hear  from  me. 
Please  say  that  I  have  gone  on  a  journey  to  fulfil  a 
pledge  made  years  ago  ;  and  try  not  to  show  the  Sisters 
that  you  have  no  confidence  in  me.  That — would  rob  my 
home-coming  of  half  its  pleasure.  If  any  unforeseen 
accident  should  keep  me  away,  should  cut  short  a  life 
which  has  overflowed  Avith  great  sorrow,  then  retain  the 
money  and  the  pictures  I  leave  behind ;  and  believe 
that  I  died,  as  I  have  lived,  not  unworthy  of  all  the 
kindness  and  true  charity  this  dear,  sacred  *  Anchor 
age  '  has  shown  to  me.  Sister  Elena  is  impatient ;  I 
hear  her  walking  up  and  down  the  floor.  While  I  am 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  581 

absent,  Sister  Katrina,  and  especially  Sister  Anice,  can 
take  my  place  in  the  Art  School ;  and  all  my  orders 
were  finished  last  week,  except  the  mirror  for  Mrs.  St. 
Clair.  She  wished  it  framed  in  scarlet  bignonias,  and 
as  the  painting  is  more  than  half  done,  Sister  Anice  can 
easily  complete  it.  I  will  not  detain  you  longer.  Good 
night,  Sister  Ruth." 

ISTo  sleep  visited  Beryl,  and  as  she  lay  at  two  o'clock, 
watching  the  shimmer  of  the  moonlight  reflected  from 
the  tossing  waves  upon  the  panes  of  her  wide  window, 
where  the  tangled  mesh  of  quivering  rays  coiled,  un 
coiled,  glided  hither  and  yon  like  golden  serpents,  she 
heard  the  click  of  the  key,  and  the  turning  of  the  knob 
in  a  door,  which  opened  from  the  alcove  into  an  adjoin 
ing  room.  That  apartment  was  reserved  as  a  guest 
chamber  ;  had  been  unoccupied  for  months;  and  puz 
zled  by  the  sound,  Beryl  sat  up  in  her  bed  and  listened. 
The  blue  folds  of  the  drapery  hanging  over  the  alcove 
arch,  were  drawn  aside,  and  Sister  Ruth,  wrapped  in  a 
trailing  dressing-gown,  held  up  a  small  lamp  and 
peered  cautiously  around. 

"  What  is  the  matter,  Sister  ?" 

"  Did  I  frighten  you  ?  I  came  this  way  rather  than 
knock  at  the  other  door,  because  Sister  Frances  is  on 
watch  to-night ;  and  though  she  is  a  dear  good  soul, 
she  is  afflicted  with  an  undue  share  of  the  feminine 
frailty,  curiosity,  and  I  prefer  that  no  one  should  can 
vass  my  unseasonable  visit  to  you.  Do  not  get  up." 

She  put  the  brass  lamp  on  a  chair,  and  sat  down  on 
the  edge  of  the  bed. 

"Our  conversation  has  disquieted  me,  and  I  cannot 
sleep.  Long  ago,  for  my  own  sake,  I  made  a  rule  by 
which  to  govern  my  judgment  of  my  fellow  beings  ; 
and  it  amounts  to  this  :  where  I  cannot  be  sure  of  evil 
in  others,  I  give  them  the  benefit  of  the  doubt,  and  sin. 


532  AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

cerely  endeavor  to  think  the  best.  I  have  watched  you 
very  closely.  There  is  much  that  I  cannot  understand ; 
much  that  it  appears  strange  you  should  hesitate  to 
explain ;  yet  in  these  years  I  have  had  no  cause  to 
question  your  truthfulness,  and  that  is  the  basis  of  all 
human  worth.  We  profess  to  live  here  as  one  family, 
as  sisters,  holding  each  other  in  love,  charity  and  trust; 
yet  in  searching  myself  to-night,  I  fear  I  have  gone 
astray.  I  have  pondered  and  prayed  over  this  matter, 
and  my  heart  yearns  toward  you.  I  feel  as  I  fancy  a 
mother  might,  who  had  too  hastily  slapped  the  face 
of  her  child ;  and,  my  sister,  I  have  come  to  say,  for 
give  me,  if  I  too  harshly  refused  your  request,  if  I 
wounded  you." 

She  held  out  her  hand,  but  Beryl  did  not  see  it ;  she 
^ad  covered  her  face,  and  unable  to  speak  she  leaned 
Jorward  and  laid  her  head  on  the  matron's  lap.  Gently 
the  thin  fingers  stroked  the  shining  hair,  until  they 
were  drawn  down  and  pressed  to  the  girl's  lips. 

"  Again,  I  asked  myself,  whether  my  decision  had 
not  been  inspired  by  an  overweening  pride  in  the 
public  estimation  of  our  home ;  rather  than  by  an  un 
selfish  regard  for  the  welfare  and  peace  of  mind  of  one 
of  its  members  ?  What  will  the  world  think  of  us, 
must  be  subordinated  to,  what  is  the  best  for  my  young 
sister,  whose  cross  it  is  my  duty  to  lighten  ?  I  cannot 
bear  to  give  you  up ;  and  I  shall,  I  will  trust  you.  Wear 
the  '  gray '  armor,  and  remember,  if  any  blot  stain  it, 
you  will  bring  disgrace  upon  a  holy  cause ;  you  will  be 
the  first  to  stain  the  Umilta  uniform  ;  and  I  shall  be 
blamed,  for  reposing  confidence  in  one  who  betrayed 
us  to  public  scorn.  My  Sister  Beryl,  I  give  you  '  the 
gray'.  God  grant  it  may  shelter  you  from  harm,  and 
bring  you  home  to  fill  my  place  with  honor,  when  I 
have  passed  into  the  eternal  Anchorage," 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  HBKRIUS  583 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

VER  the  region  of  the  great  lakes,  her  favorite 
haunt,  hung  the  enchanted  stillness,  the  misty 
glamour  of  the  purple-cloaked  witch — Indian  Summer ; 
whose  sorcery  veiled  the  dazzling  face  of  the  sun,  and 
changed  the  silver  lustre  of  Selene  into  the  vast, 
solemn  red  blot  that  stared  wonderingly  at  its  own 
weird  image  in  the  glassy  waters. 

Wrapped  in  that  soft,  sweet  haze,  which  like  the 
eider  down  of  charity  smooths  all  roughness,  rounds 
all  angles,  the  world  of  shore  and  lake  presented  a 
magical  panorama  of  towns  and  villages,  herds  of 
cattle,  flocks  of  sheep,  spires  of  churches,  masts  of 
vessels, — all  flashing  past  the  open  window  of  the  car, 
where  Beryl  sat,  watching  the  shadows  lengthen  as 
the  long  train  thundered  eastward,  and  the  tree  dials 
marked  the  hour  record  on  the  golden  brown  stubble 
fields. 

When  the  goal  is  in  sight,  do  we  dwell  on  the 
hazard,  the  strained  muscles,  the  blistered  feet,  and  the 
fierce  thirst  the  long  race-course  cost  us  ?  Who  know 
that  they  are  weary  and  spent,  while  the  prize  bright 
ens,  nears  as  they  stretch  panting  to  grasp  it  ? 

The  certainty  of  meeting  her  brother,  the  anticipation 
of  all  that  she  felt  assured  he  would  promise  concerning 
his  future,  when  he  learned  the  severity  of  the  ordeal 
which  she  had  endured  in  his  behalf,  blotted  out  the 
costliness  of  the  accomplishment.  Like  that  glorious 
violet  haze  of  Indian  Summer,  which  was  drawing  its 
opalescent  drapery  along-  the  vanishing  iron  railway 
track  blackened  with  cinders,  and  softly  shrouding  the 


584  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

grim  outlines  of  wreck,  that  told  where  a  vessel  had 
foundered  on  the  lake  in  the  early  Autumn  gale,  an" 
overruling  Providence  seemed  shedding  peace  even 
upon  her  troubled  past.  In  the  swift  flash  of  the 
divine  fire  that  sanctified  the  accepted  sacrifice,  she 
was  too  dazzled  to  remember  the  moan  of  the  slaugh 
tered  victim,  the  agony  of  the  death  struggle;  and 
now,  her  thoughts  spanned  the  gulf  of  time,  and 
painted  the  eternal  reunion  of  the  broken  and  dishon 
ored  family  group. 

From  these  comforting  reflections  she  was  aroused 
by  a  piercing  cry  that  m&de  her  spring  forward,  and 
scan  the  crowd  of  human  faces  collected  close  to  the 
rails,  at  a  small  town  where  the  cars  had  halted. 

On  a  side  track  in  front  of  her  window,  was  a  train 
which  had  just  dashed  in  from  Buffalo,  and  amid  the 
surging  mass  of  jeering  spectators,  two  officers  stepped 
down  from  the  platform,  each  with  a  hand  on  the  arm 
of  a  man,  who  was  heavily  handcuffed.  At  the  sight, 
a  white-haired,  withered  woman  leaning  from  a  car 
riage  and  staring  with  horror-haunted  eyes,  had 
screamed,  and  was  falling  back  insensible. 

"  That  is  his  mother.  Poor  thing,  why  did  they  let 
her  come  ?  He  is  her  only  boy,"  said  a  man  to  his 
comrade,  who  stood  near  Beryl's  seat. 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?"  asked  a  gentleman,  sitting 
immediately  in  front  of  her. 

"  Two  of  our  officers  winged  a  bird,  who  thought  it 
was  safe  flying  over  yonder,  with  the  lake  between  him 
and  the  county  jail.  Canada  is  handy  hunting-ground, 
when  the  game  happens  to  be  runaway  thieves  ;  and  we 
have  bagged  one.  He  was  the  cashier  of  our  Savings 
Bank,  and  not  satisfied  with  tampering  with  the 
books,  and  forcing  balances,  he  finally  robbed  the 
vault  of  a  lot  of  gold,  and  flew  across  the  line.  His 


AT   THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  585 

wife  met  him  at  St.  Catherine's,  and  he  met  the  iron 
bracelets  he  was  dodging." 

The  train  moved  on,  and  once  more  Beryl  heard  the 
howling  of  the  wolves,  that  she  had  hoped  were  left 
forever  behind  ;  that  now  seemed  in  full  cry  bearing 
down  upon  their  prey.  Should  she  return  to  the 
"  Anchorage",  and  advertise  Bertie's  danger?  So 
vague  were  her  ideas  relative  to  the  limits  of  extra 
dition,  that  she  had  regarded  Canada  as  a  city  of 
refuge;  considered  its  protection  of  United  States' 
criminal  fugitives  as  efficacious,  as  meeting  a  Vestal 
Priestess  on  the  way  to  his  execution,  proved  in  res 
cuing  a  Roman  malefactor  from  the  penalty  of  vio 
lated  law ;  but  this  shred  of  comfort  had  parted,  when 
most  she  required  its  aid. 

"Yes,  I  understand  extradition  provisions  have 
been  arranged,  which  are  bound  to  have  a  whole 
some  effect ;  especially  in  this  section,  where  it  is  so 
easy  to  slip  across  the  lakes  any  dark  night.  I  am 
told  nearly  all  felonies  will  be  embraced  now — from 
murder  to  burglary — and  that  Her  Majesty's  Secre 
taries  are  more  willing  to  aid  our  officers,  than  was 
the  case  a  few  years  ago,  when  no  end  of  quibbling 
tied  up  justice." 

The  gentlemen  on  the  seat  in  front  of  her,  moved 
away  to  the  smoking  car  ;  and  the  woman  in  gray 
listened  to  the  creak  and  whirr  of  the  wheel  of  tortur 
ing  dread,  upon  which  some  malignant  fate  once  more 
bound  her.  Bertie  had  been  safe  in  his  mountain  fast 
ness,  until  her  ill-starred  advertisement  coaxed  him 
within  reach  of  the  police  Briareus.  Could  she  dis 
cern  the  hand  of  merciful  warning  in  this  fortuitous 
meeting  with  a  captured  culprit ;  which  so  vividly 
recalled  the  maddening  incidents  of  her  return  to 
X ,  when  the  sheriff  had  hurried  her  from  the  car  ? 


586  AT  THE  MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

A  sickening  terror  seized  her,  and  along-  the  expanse 
of  peaH.y  mist  that  united  earth  and  sky,  in  the  snowy 
fringe  of  ripples  breaking  their  teeth  on  the  shelving 
beach,  she  seemed  to  read  the  doom  of  her  stratagem 
wrttten  in  words  of  menace : 

*'  Go  where  you  may,  but  I  give  you  fair  warning 
you  cannot  escape  me ;  and  the  day  on  which  you  meet 
that  guilty  vagabond,  you  betray  him  to  the  scouts  of 
justice." 

Far  away,  among  the  orange  groves  of  Louisiana, 
would  he  forget  his  threat,  or  fail  to  execute  it  ?  On 
and  on  darted  the  train ;  people  laughed  and  talked ; 
a  tired  baby  swayed  from  side  to  side  on  the  nurse's 
knees,  crooned  herself  to  sleep  ;  and  a  canary  in  a  cage 
covered  with  pink  net,  broke  suddenly  into  a  spasm  of 
trills  and  roulades. 

It  was  almost  four  o'clock  when  the  dull  roar  of 
Niagara  set  the  air  a  tremble,  and  the  few  remaining 
passengers  left  the  train.  The  little  town  was  unusu 
ally  quiet  and  deserted,  the  tide  of  summer  travel 
having  ebbed  ;  and  not  until  the  crystal  fingers  of 
the  ice  fairy  had  built  her  wonderful  Giralda  out  of 
foam  and  spray,  would  that  of  Winter  tourists  begin 
to  flow. 

Leaving  her  trunk  at  the  "baggage  room"  of  the 
station,  Beryl  engaged  a  carriage  driver  to  take  her  to 
the  Suspension  Bridge.  Drawing  her  gray  bonnet 
and  veil  as  far  as  possible  over  her  face,  she  paid  the 
toll,  and  noticed  that  the  keeper  peered  curiously  at 
her,  and  muttered  something  in  an  undertone  to  a 
man  wearing  a  imiform,  who  turned  and  stared  at 
her. 

She  hurried  away  along  that  iron  mesh  swinging 
high  in  air  like  a  vast  spider  web,  spun  from  shore  to 
shore  across  the  swirling,  snarling  caldron  of  hissing 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  587 

waters.  Was  the  officer  the  wary  spider  watching  her 
movements,  waiting1  to  slip  down  the  metal  snare,  and 
devour  her  hopes  ?  Her  heart  beats  sounded  as  the 
heavy  thuds  of  a  drum ;  the  rush  of  dire  forebodings 
drowned  even  the  roar  of  the  Falls,  and  the  magnifi 
cence  of  the  spectacle  vanished  before  the  awful  real 
ization  of  the  danger  to  which  she  had  invited  Bertie. 

The  bridge  was  deserted ;  no  human  being  was 
visible ;  and  now  and  then  she  glanced  back  over  her 
shoulder,  dreading  she  knew  not  what  form  of  pursuit. 
At  last  her  flying  feet  touched  British  soil,  but  she 
knew  now,  that  neither  Bezer  nor  yet  Shechem  lay  be 
fore  her ;  and  no  sign-post  rose  to  welcome  her,  with 
the  "  Refuge — Refuge" — the  water  and  the  bread  ap 
pointed  of  old,  for  spent  fugitives.  Canada  was  an 
ambush  that,  despite  all  caution,  might  betray  her. 
Against  the  last  rail  of  the  bridge  she  leaned,  tried  to 
steady  her  nerves ;  and  put  up  one  passionate  prayer : 

"  Turn  not  Thy  face  from  me,  O  my  God  !  in  this 
last  hour  !  Guide  me  aright.  Overrule  all  my  mis 
takes,  and  save  my  repentant  brother." 

On  the  wide  gallery  of  the  "  Clifton  House"  stood  a 
gardener  engaged  in  removing  the  flower  baskets  that 
hung  between  the  columns ;  and  as  he  paused  in  his 
work,  to  observe  the  quaint  gray  figure  below,  she 
asked,  in  a  voice  that  was  strained  beyond  its  custom 
ary  sweetness : 

"  Please  direct  me  to  the  Museum." 

"  Follow  the  street  along  the  cliff,  and  you  can't 
miss  it.  Behind  those  trees  yonder,  on  the  right  hand 
side.  To  the  best  of  my  belief,  it  is  shut  up  this  week." 

Turning  south,  she  walked  more  leisurely,  lest  undue 
naste  should  excite  suspicion  ;  and  all  the  solemn  sub 
limity  of  the  scene  confronted  her.  The  green  crescent 
of  the  Horseshoe  blanched  to  foam,  as  it  leaped  to  the 


588  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

stony  gulf  below,  the  wreaths  of  mist  floating  up, 
gilded  by  the  sunshine  ;  the  maddened  rush  of  the 
tossing,  frothing,  whirling  Rapids  seething  like  melted 
gold  as  the  western  radiance  smote  the  bubbling  sur 
face  ;  the  scarlet  flakes  of  foliage  clinging  to  the  trees 
on  Goat  Island,  and  far  above,  on  the  wooded  height 
beyond,  the  picturesque  outlines  of  the  Convent,  lift 
ing  its  belfry  against  the  azure  sky.  As  doomed 
swimmers  lost  in  those  rapids,  swept  head  downward 
to  destruction,  nearing  the  last  wild  plunge  catch  the 
glimmer  of  that  consecrated  tower  held  aloft,  so  to 
Beryl's  eyes  it  now  seemed  a  symbol  of  comfort ;  and 
faith  once  more  girded  her. 

A  woman  wearing  a  blue  plaid  handkerchief  tied  over 
her  head  and  knotted  under  her  chin,  and  carrying  a 
basket  of  red  apples  on  one  arm,  while  with  the  other 
she  led  a  lowing  cow  along  the  dusty  road,  paused  at 
a  signal,  in  front  of  the  gray  clad  stranger. 

"  Which  is  the  Museum  ?" 

"  Yonder,  where  the  goats  are  huddled." 

The  building  was  closed,  but  in  those  days  a  garden 
lay  to  the  north  of  it;  and  a  small  gate  that  gave  ad 
mittance  to  seats  and  flowers  connected  with  the 
museum,  now  stood  open. 

The  walks  were  strewn  with  pale  yellow  poplar 
leaves,  and  bordered  with  belated  pink  hollyhocks,  and 
crimson  chrysanthemums  blightecl  by  frost,  shivering 
in  their  death  chill;  and  from  a  neighboring  willow 
stripped  of  curtaining  foliage,  a  lonely  bird  piped  its 
plaintive  threnody,  for  the  loss  of  one  summer's  mate. 
At  the  extremity  of  the  little  garden,  under  shelter  of 
•in  ancient,  gnarled  tree,  that  screened  a  semi-circular 
i-.eat  from  the  observation  of  those  passing  on  the 
street,  Beryl  sat  down  to  rest ;  to  collect  her  thoughts. 

In  the  solitude,  she  threw  back  her  vei!,  leaned  her 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  589 

head  against  the  trunk  of  the  tree  where  wan  lichens 
made  a  pearly  cushion,  and  shut  her  eyes.  The  after 
noon  was  wearing-  away ;  a  keen  wind  shook  the  bare 
boughs;  only  the  ceaseless,  unchanging  chant  of 
waters  rose  from  the  vast  throat  of  nature,  invoking 
its  God. 

She  heard  no  footsteps ;  but  some  strange  current 
attacked  her  veins,  thrilled  along  her  nerves,  strung 
as  taut  as  the  wires  of  a  harp,  and  starting  up  she  be 
came  aware  that  a  man  was  standing  on  the  clover 
sward  close  to  her.  A  dark  brown  overcoat,  a  broad 
brimmed,  soft  wool  hat,  drawn  as  a  mask  down  to  the 
bridge  of  the  nose,  and  a  bare  hand  covering  the 
mouth,  was  all  she  saw. 

Stretching  out  her  arms,  she  sprang  to  meet  him : 

"  O  Bertie  !    At  last !    At  last !" 

The  figure  drew  back  slightly,  lifted  his  hat ;  and 
where  she  had  expected  to  see  her  brother's  golden 
curls,  the  crisp,  black  locks  of  Mr.  Dunbar  met  her 
gaze. 

"You!    Here?" 

She  staggered,  and  sank  back  on  the  bench  ;  the  real 
ization  of  Bertie's  peril  throttling  the  joy  that  leaped 
up  in  her  heart,  at  sight  of  the  beloved  features. 

"  I  am  here.  I  come  as  promptly  to  fulfil  my  prom 
ise  as  you  to  keep  your  tryst.  Do  you  understand  me 
so  little,  that  you  doubted  my  word  ?" 

Her  bonnet  had  slipped  back,  and  as  all  the  chas 
tened  beauty  of  her  face  framed  in  the  dainty  cap,  be 
came  fully  exposed,  a  heavy  sigh  escaped  him,  and  he 
set  his  teeth,  like  one  nerved  to  endure  torture. 

For  months  he  had  nourished  the  germ  of  a  gener 
ous  purpose,  had  tried  to  accustom  himself  to  the  idea 
of  ultimately  surrendering  her ;  but  in  her  presence,  a 
certain  bitter  fury  swept  away  the  wretched  figment, 


590  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

and  he  remembered  only  how  fair,  how  holy,  how  dear 
she  was  to  him.  Once  more  the  cry  of  his  famishing 
heart  was  :  "  Death  may  part  us.  I  swear  no  man's 
arms  ever  shall." 

"  Why  waylay  and  torment  me  ?  Have  I  not  suf 
fered  enough  at  your  hands  ?  Between  me  and  mine, 
not  even  you  can  come." 

"  Take  care !  For  your  sake  I  am  here,  hoping  to 
spare  you  some  pangs  ;  to  allow  you  at  least  an  oppor 
tunity  to  see  him — " 

1 '  What  have  you  done  ?  Don't  tell  me  I  am  too 
late.  Where  is  he  ?  Oh  !  where — where  is  he  ?" 

She  had  sprung  up,  and  her  hands  closed  around  his 
arm,  shaking  it  in  the  desperation  of  her  dread ;  while 
her  voice  quivered  under  the  strain  of  a  conjecture  that 
Bertie  had  already  been  arrested. 

"Where  is  your  chivalrous,  courageous,  unselfish, 
devoted  lover  ?  To  ascertain  exactly  where  he  skulks, 
is  my  mission  to  Canada  ;  for  I  thought  I  had  schooled 
myself  to  bear  the  pain  of— 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  What  have  you  done  with 
my  Bertie  ?  Oh—" 

She  threw  herself  suddenly  on  her  knees,  held  up  her 
hands,  and  a  wailing  cry  broke  the  stillness : 

"  Save  him,  Mr.  Dunbar !  You  will  break  my  heart 
if  you  bring  ruin  upon  his  dear  head.  He  is  all  I  have 
on  earth,  he  is  my  own  brother !  My  brother !  my 
brother !" 

The  blood  ebbed  from  his  face ;  the  haughty  mouth 
twitched  in  a  sudden  spasm,  and  he  put  his  hand  over 
his  eyes. 

Could  she  adopt  this  ruse  to  thwart  pursuit  of  the 
man  whom  she  idolized  ?  For  half  a  moment  he  stood, 
with  whitened  lips  ;  then  stooped,  took  the  face  of  the 
kneeling-  woman  in  his  palms,  and  scanned  it. 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  591 

"  Your  brother?" 

"My  brother.  Do  you  understand  at  last,  why  I 
must  save  him  ?  Why  you  must  help  me  to  screen  him 
from  ruin  ?" 

"  Great  God  !  After  all,  what  a  blind  fool  I  have 
been !" 

He  raised  her,  placed  her  on  the  bench  ;  sat  down 
and  leaned  his  head  on  his  hand.  To  Beryl,  the  si 
lence  that  followed  was  an  excruciating  torture,  be 
yond  even  her  power  of  endurance. 

"  Do  not  keep  me  in  suspense.  Where  is  Bertie  ? 
Let  me  see  him,  if  he  is  here." 

"He  is  not  here.  It  was  to  assist  you  in  finding 
him,  that  I  enticed  you  here." 

"  You  enticed  me  ?" 

"  I  put  the  advertisement  hi  the  '  Herald ',  knowing 
that  if  you  chanced  to  see  it,  all  the  legions  of  Satan 
could  not  keep  you  away.  I  have  been  here  since  Sun 
day,  waiting  and  watching.  I  was  obliged  to  see  you, 
for  your  own  sake,  as  well  as  to  satisfy  my  longing  to 
look  once  more  into  your  face ;  and  I  felt  assured  the 
magnetic  name  of  '  Bertie  '  would  draw  you  here 
swiftly." 

"Then  it  was  only  a  snare,  that  advertisement? 
Oh  !  you  are  cruel !" 

"  Not  to  you.  It  was  to  promote  your  peace  of 
mind,  by  enabling  you  to  meet  the  man  who,  I  sup 
posed  was  your  lover,  that  I  invited  you  to  this  place. 
Mark  you,  only  to  see,  never  to  marry  him." 

"Where  is  he  ?" 

"  Exactly  where,  I  do  not  yet  know ;  but  very  soon 
you  shall  learn." 

"Is  he  in  peril  ?" 

"  Not  from  arrest,  at  present,  by  human  officers  of 
retributive  justice." 


592  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

"  He  is  not  coming  here  ?" 

"Certainly  not." 

"  How  did  you  learn  his  name  ?" 

"I  suspected  that  the  advertisement  you  published 

in  the  "  Herald  "  after  leaving  X ,  was  a  clue  that 

would  aid  me.  I  clung  to  it,  for  I  was  sure  it  referred 
to  the  man  whom  I  have  hunted  so  persistently." 

"  You  have  something  to  tell  me.  Be  merciful,  and 
end  my  suspense." 

"  First,  answer  one  question.  Why  did  you  conceal 
from  me  the  fact  that  you  had  a  brother  ?  Why  did 
you  allow  me  to  suffer  from  a  false  theory,  that  you 
knew  made  my  life  a  slow  torture  ?" 

He  leaned  nearer,  and  under  the  blue  fire  of  his 
eager  eyes,  the  blood  mounted  into  her  pale  cheeks. 

"  My  motive  belongs  to  a  past,  with  which  I  trust  I 
have  done  forever ;  and  you  have  no  right  to  violate 
its  buried  ashes." 

"  I  must,  and  I  will  have  all  the  truth,  cost  what  it 
may.  Between  you  and  me,  no  spectre  of  mystery 
shall  longer  stalk.  If  you  had  trusted  me,  and  con- 
fessed  the  facts  before  the  trial,  you  would  have  muz 
zled  me  effectually,  and  prevented  the  employment  of 
detectives  whom  I  have  hissed  on  your  brother's  track. 
Why  did  you  lead  me  astray,  and  confirm  my  suspi 
cion  that  you  were  shielding  a  lover  ?" 

"  I  was  innocent ;  but  my  name,  my  father's  honor 
ed  name,  was  in  jeopardy  of  dishonor,  and  to  protect 
it,  I  would  not  undeceive  you.  Had  my  brother  been 
convicted,  the  established  guilt  would  have  tarnished 
forever  our  only  legacy,  all  that  father  left  to  Bertie 
and  to  me — his  spotless  name." 

"You  are  quibbling.  Did  you  shield  the  family 
name  by  enduring  the  purgatory  of  seeing  your  own 
on  the  list  of  penitentiary  convicts  ?  You  deliberately 


AT  THE  MEPCY   OF   TIBERIUS.  593 

fastened  the  odium  of  the  crime  upon  your  father's 
daughter ;  and  you  knew,  you  understood  perfectly, 
that  by  strengthening  my  erroneous  supposition,  you 
were  lashing  me  to  a  pursuit  of  the  person,  whom  you 
could  have  best  protected  by  frankly  telling  me  all.  If 
he  be  indeed  your  brother,  what  did  you  expect  to  accom 
plish  by  fostering  my  belief  that  he  was  your  lover  ?" 

1  'Mr.  Dunbar,  spare  me  this  inquisition.  Release 
me  from  the  rack  of  suspense.  Tell  me  why  you  set 
this  snare,  baited  with  Bertie's  name  ?" 

"  I  must  first  end  my  own  suspense.  If  you  wish 
to  find  the  man,  you  tell  me  is  your  brother,  I  will  aid 
you  only  when  you  have  bared  your  heart  to  me.  You 
had  some  powerful  incentive  unrevealed.  I  will  know 
exactly,  why  you  made  me  suffer  all  these  years,  the 
pangs  of  a  devouring  jealousy,  keener  than  a  vulture's 
talons." 

With  crimson  cheeks,  and  shy,  averted  eyes,  she  sat 
trembling;  unconsciously  locking  and  unlocking  her 
fingers.  Her  head  drooped,  and  the  voice  was  a  low 
flutter : 

"  If  I  had  told  you  that  the  handkerchief  was  one  1 
gave  to  my  brother,  because  he  fancied  the  gay  bor 
der,  and  that  the  pipe  belonged  to  my  dear  father,  and 
if  you  had  known  that  for  more  than  a  year  before  1 
went  to  X no  tidings  from  that  brother  had  reach 
ed  me,  would  you  have  kept  my  secret,  when  you  saw 
my  life  laid  in  the  scales  held  by  the  jury  ?  Suppose 
they  had  condemned  me  to  death  ?  I  expected  that 
fate ;  but  knowing  the  truth,  would  you  have  permitted 
tho  execution  of  that  sentence  ?" 

"Certainly  not;  and  you  understand  why  I  should 
never  have  allowed  it." 

'  *  I  knew  that  in  such  an  emergency,  I  could  not 
trust  you." 


594:  AP  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

Five  minutes  passed,  while  he  silently  sought  to  un 
ravel  the  web  ;  and  Beryl  dared  not  meet  his  gaze. 

"You  had  some  stronger  motive,  else  you  would 
have  confessed  all,  when  I  started  to  Dakota.  Anxiety 
for  your  brother's  safety  would  have  unsealed  your 
lips.  What  actuated  you  then  ?  I  mean  to  know 
everything  now." 

"  Miss  Gordon  was  my  friend.  She  showed  me  kind 
ness  which  I  could  never  forget." 

' '  Miss  Gordon  is  a  very  noble  woman,  kinder  to  all 
the  world  than  to  herself :  but  did  gratitude  to  her  in 
volve  sacrifice  of  me  ?" 

"  You  were  betrothed.  I  owed  it  to  her,  to  keep 
you  loyal  to  your  vows,  as  far  as  my  power  extended. 
I  tried  faithfully  to  guard  her  happiness,  while  endeav 
oring  to  shield  my  brother." 

.. "  Knowing  you  had  all  my  heart,  you  dared  not  let 
me  learn  that  the  rival  existed  only  in  my  imagination  ? 
Loyal  soul !  Did  you  deem  it  a  kindness  to  aid  in  bind 
ing  her  to  an  unloving  husband  ?  Her  womanly  in 
stincts  saved  her  from  that  death  in  life ;  and  years 
ago,  she  set  us  both  free.  She  wears  no  willows,  let 
me  tell  you ;  and  those  who  should  know  best,  think 
that  before  very  long  she  will  sail  for  Europe  as  wife 
of  Governor  Glenbeigh,  the  newly  appointed  minister 

to  Z ,   a  brilliant  position,  which  she  will  nobly 

grace.  She  will  be  happier  as  Glenbeigh's  wife,  than 
I  could  possibly  have  made  her ;  for  he  loves  her  as  she 
deserves  to  be  loved.  So,  for  Miss  Gordon's  sake,  you 
immolated  me?" 

Only  the  pathetic  piping  of  the  lonely  bird  made 
answer. 

Lake  the  premonitory  thrill  that  creeps  through 
forest  leaves,  before  the  coming  burst  of  a  tempest,  he 
seemed  to  tremble  slightly ;  his  tone  had  a  rising  ring, 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  595 

and  a  dark  flush  stained  his  swarthy  face,  deepened  the 
color  in  his  brilliant  eyes. 

"  Oh,  my  white  rose  !  A  wonderful  fragrance  of 
hope  steals  into  the  air ;  a  light  breaks  upon  my  dreary 
world  that  makes  me  giddy  !  Can  it  be  possible  that 
you—" 

He  paused,  and  she  covered  her  face  with  her  hands. 

"  Beryl,  you  are  the  only  woman  I  have  ever  loved. 
You  came  suddenly  into  my  life,  as  an  irresistible  in 
carnation  of  some  fateful  witchery  that  stole  and  fired 
my  heart,  subverted  all  my  plans,  made  havoc  of  life 
long  hopes,  dominated  my  will,  changed  my  nature ; 
overturned  the  cool  selfishness  on  the  altar  of  my  wor 
ship,  and  set  up  your  own  image  in  a  temple,  swept, 
garnished,  and  sanctified  forever  by  your  in-dwelling. 
You  have  cost  me  stinging  humiliation,  years  of  regret, 
of  bitter  disappointment ;  and  the  ceaselessly  gnawing 
pain  of  a  jealous  dread  that  despite  my  vigilance, 
another  man  might  some  day  possess  you.  I  have 
money,  influence,  professional  success,  gratified  ambi 
tion,  and  enviable  social  eminence  ;  I  have  all  but  that 
which  a  man  wants  most,  the  one  woman  in  the  great 
wide  world  whom  he  loves  truly,  loves  better  than  he 
loves  himself ;  and  who  holds  his  heart  in  the  hollow 
of  her  hand.  I  want  my  beautiful,  proud,  pure,  stately 
white  rose.  I  want  my  Beryl.  I  will  have  my  own." 

He  had  risen,  stood  before  her  ;  took  the  hands  tha,t 
veiled  her  countenance,  <*nd  drew  her  to  her  feet. 

"You  have  been  loyal  to  parents,  to  brother,  to 
friends,  to  duty ;  be  loyal  now  to  your  own  heart ; 
answer  me  truly.  What  did  you  mean  when  you  once 
said,  with  a  mournful  pathos  I  cannot  forget :  '  We 
love  not  always  whom  we  should,  or  would,  were  choice 
•permitted  us  ?'  You  defied  me  that  day,  and  prayed 
God  to  bless  your  lover ;  taunted  me  with  words  that 


596  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

have  made  days  dreary,  nights  hideous  :  *  To  whom  I 
have  given  my  whole  deep  heart,  you  shall  never  know.' 
Did  you  mean — ah — will  you  tell  me  now  ?" 

She  bent  her  head  till  it  almost  touched  him,  but  no 
answer  came. 

"  You  will  not  ?  I  swear  you  shall ;  else  I  shall  hope, 
believe,  know  beyond  all  doubt,  that  during  these 
years,  I  have  not  been  the  only  sufferer ;  and  that  loyal 
as  was  your  soul,  your  rebel  heart  is  as  truly  mine,  as 
all  my  deathless  love  is  surely  yours." 

She  tried  to  withdraw  her  hands  ;  but  his  hold  tight 
ened,  and  infinite  exultation  rang  in  his  voice. 

"  My  darling  !  My  darling — you  dare  not  deny  it? 
I  shall  wear  my  white  rose  to  make  all  the  future  sweet 
with  a  blessed  love ;  but  have  you  no  word  of  assur 
ance  for  my  hungry  ears?  Is  my  darling  too 
proud?" 

He  raised  her  hands,  laid  her  arms  around  his  neck, 
and  folded  very  close  to  his  heart,  the  long  coveted 
prize. 

"  My  Beryl,  it  was  a  stubborn  battle,  but  Lennox 
Dunbar  claims  his  own  ;  and  will  hold  her  safe  forever. 
Will  you  be  loyal  to  your  tyrant  ?" 

Was  it  a  white  or  a  crimson  rose  that  hid  its  lovely 
petals  against  his  shoulder,  and  whispered  with  lips 
that  his  kiss  had  rouged  : 

"  Have  I  ever  been  allowed  a  choice  ?  Was  I  not 
foredoomed  to  be  always  at  the  mercy  of  Tiberius  ?" 

The  little  garden  was  growing  dusky,  the  gilded  mist 
waving  its  spectral  banners  over  the  thundering  cata 
ract,  had  whitened  as  the  sun  went  down  behind  the 
wooded  crest  that  barred  the  western  sky  line  ;  and  the 
shimmering  gold  on  the  heaving,  whirling  current  of 
the  Rapids  faded  to  leaden  tints,  flecked  with  foam,  as 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  597 

like  a  maddened  suitor,  parted  by  Goat  Island  from  its 
beloved,  it  rushed  to  plunge  into  the  abyss,  where  the 
silvery  bridal  veil  shook  her  signal,  and  all  the  roaring 
gorge  filled  with  purple  gloom. 

Mr.  Dunbar  drew  his  companion's  hand  under  his 
arm,  and  led  her  toward  the  Clifton  House. 

"  You  and  I  have  done  with  shadows.  On  the 
heights  yonder,  the  sun  still  shines.  Up  there  waits 
one,  who  will  tell  you  that  which  he  refuses  to  divulge 
to  any  one  else.  Ten  days  ago  my  agents  notified  me 
that  a  man  was  searching  for  Mrs.  Brentano  and  her 
daughter  Beryl  in  New  York ;  and  that  he  had  gone  to 

X ,  where  he  spent  several  days  in  consultation  with 

the  Catholic  priest.  Singleton  sent  me  a  telegram,  and 
I  reached  X—  -  in  time  to  accompany  the  stranger 
back  to  New  York.  To  me  he  admits  only,  that  he 
lives  in  Montreal ;  and  is  the  bearer  of  a  message,  the 
import  of  which,  sacred  promises  prevent  him  from 
revealing  to  any  one  but  Miss  Brentano.  He  is  an 
elderly  man,  and  so  wary,  no  amount  of  dexterity  can 
circumvent  his  caution.  Very  complex  and  inexplic 
able  motives  brought  me  here ;  chiefly  the  longing  to 
see  you,  to  learn  your  retreat,  your  mode  of  existence : 
and  also  the  intention  to  exact  one  condition,  before  T 
made  it  possible  for  you  to  find  the  object  of  your 
search.  When  you  had  given  me  your  promise  not  to 
marry  him,  it  was  my  purpose  to  allow  you  one  final 
meeting ;  and  if  you  forfeited  your  compact,  the  dun 
geon  and  the  gallows  awaited  him.  Love  makes  women 
martyrs  ;  they  are  the  apostles  of  the  gospel  of  altru 
ism.  Love  revives  in  men  of  my  stamp,  the  primeval 
and  undifferentiated  tiger.  When  I  think  of  all  that 
you  have  endured,  of  how  nearly  I  lost  you,  my  snow 
drop,  do  you  wonder  I  shall  hasten  to  set  you  in  the 


598  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

garden  of  my  heart,  and  shelter  your  dear  head  from 
every  chill  wind  of  adversity  ?" 

They  had  passed  through  a  gate,  crossed  a  lawn, 
and  reached  a  long,  steep  flight  of  steps  leading  straight 
up  the  face  of  a  cliff,  to  the  grounds  attached  to  a 
villa.  With  her  hand  clasped  tightly  in  his,  Mr.  Dun- 
bar  and  Beryl  slowly  mounted  the  abrupt  stairway,  and 
when  they  gained  the  elevated  terrace,  a  man  who  was 
walking  up  and  down  the  sward,  came  quickly  forward. 

Pressing  her  fingers  tenderly,  Mr.  Dunbar  released 
her  hand. 

"  When  your  interview  is  ended,  come  to  me  yonder 
at  the  side  gate,  where  I  have  a  carriage  to  take  you 
over  the  bridge.  Father  Beckx,  this  is  Miss  Brentano. 
I  leave  her  in  your  care." 

The  sun  was  sending  his  last  level  shafts  of  light 
from  the  edge  of  the  sky,  when  a  man  dressed  in  long 
black  vestments,  a  raven-haired,  raven-eyed,  thin 
lipped  and  clean  shaven  personage,  with  a  placid  coun 
tenance  as  coldly  irresponsive  as  a  stone  mask,  sat 
down  on  the  top  step  of  the  long  stairs,  beside  the 
woman  in  gray,  whose  eager  white  face  was  turned  to 
meet  his,  in  breathless  and  mute  expectancy. 

The  lingering  twilight  held  at  bay  slowly  marching 
night;  the  sunset  glory  streamed  up  almost  to  the  zenith 
in  bands  of  amethyst  and  faint  opaline  green,  like  the 
far  reaching  plumes  of  an  archangel's  pinions  beating 
the  still,  crystal  ah*.  Later,  the  vivid  orange  of  the 
afterglow  burned  with  a  transient  splendor,  as  the 
d3^ing  smile  of  a  day  that  had  gone  to  its  eternal 
grave  ;  and  all  the  West  was  one  vast  evening  prim 
rose  of  palest  gold  sprinkled  with  star  dust,  when 
Beryl  went  slowly  to  join  the  figure  pacing  restlessly 
in  front  of  the  gate. 

Across  t)"3  grassy  lawn  he  came  to  meet  her.    In 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

mute  surrender  she  lifted  her  arras,  laid  her  proud 
head,  with  its  bared  wealth  of  burnished  bronze  hair, 
down  on  his  shoulder,  and  wept  passionately. 

When  he  had  placed  her  in  the  carriage,  and  held 
her  close  to  his  heart,  with  his  dark  cheek  resting  on 
hers,  where  tears  still  trickled,  he  whispered  : 

"  How  much  are  you  willing1  to  tell  me  ?" 

"  Only  that  I  must  start  at  once  on  a  long,  lonely 
journey  to  a  desolate  retreat,  in  mountain  solitudes  ; 
far  away  in  the  wilderness  of  the  Northwest.  Bertie 
is  there  ;  and  I  must  see  him  once  more." 

"  How  soon  do  you  wish  to  start  ?" 

"  Within  the  next  three  days." 

"  You  must  wait  one  week.  I  cannot  go  before  that 
time." 


"  Do  you  suppose  I  shall  allow  you  to  travel  there 
without  me  ?  Do  you  imagine  I  shall  ever  lose  sight 
of  you,  till  the  vows  are  uttered  that  make  you  my 
wife  ?  You  cannot  see  your  brother's  face,  until  you 
have  first  looked  into  your  husband's.  In  one  week  I 
can  arrange  to  go,  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  if  you  will  ; 
but  you  will  meet  your  brother  only  when  you  are 
Beryl  D  unbar." 

"  No  —  no  !  You  forget,  ah  !  —  You  forget.  I  have 
worn  the  penitentiary  homespun,  and  the  brand  of  the 
convict  seared  my  fair  name,  scarred  all  my  life.  The 
wounds  will  heal,  but  time  can  never  efface  the  hard 
lines  of  the  cicatrice  ;  and  I  could  not  bear  to  mar  the 
lustre  of  your  honored  name  by  —  " 

"Hush!  —  hush.  It  is  ungenerous  in  you  to  wound 
me  so  sorely.  When  I  remember  the  fiery  furnace 
through  which  my  wife  walked  unscorched,  with  such 
sublime  and  patient  heroism,  is  it  possible  that  1 
should  forget  whose  rash  hand,  whose  besotted  idiocy 


600  AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

consigned  her  to  the  awful  ordeal  ?  Out  of  the  black 
shadow  where  I  thrust  you,  sprang-  the  halo  that 
glorifies  you.  How  often,  in  the  silence  of  my  sleepless 
nights,  have  I  heard  the  echo  of  your  wild,  despairing 
cry:  'You  have  ruined  my  life!'  Oh,  my  darling! 
If  you  withhold  yourself,  if  you  cast  me  away,  you 
will  indeed  ruin  mine.  If  you  could  realize  how  I 
wince  at  the  recollection  of  your  suffering,  you  would 
not  cruelly  remind  me  of  my  own  accursed  work." 

"  If  the  soul  of  my  brother  be  ransomed  thereby,  I 

shall  thank  you,  even  for  all  that  X cost  me.  The 

world  knows  now,  that  no  suspicion  clings  to  me ;  but, 
Mr.  Dunbar,  the  disgrace  blots  forever  the  dear  name  I 
tried  to  shield  ;  and  my  vindication  only  blackens 
Bertie." 

"  The  world  will  never  know.  Your  sad  secret 
shall  be  kept,  and  my  name  shall  wrap  you  in  ermine, 
and  my  love  make  your  future  redeem  the  past. 
Having  found  my  darling,  can  I  afford  to  run  the  risK 
of  losing  her  ?  You  belong  to  me,  and  I  will  not  trust 
you  out  of  my  sight,  until  the  law  gives  me  a  hus 
band's  claim.  The  mother  of  one  of  my  oldest  friends 
is  boarding  here  in  Niagara.  I  will  commit  you  to  her 
care  until  to-morrow ;  then  some  church  will  furnish 
an  altar  where  you  shall  pledge  me  your  loyalty." 

* '  Impossible !  To-night  a  train  will  take  me  to 
Buffalo,  where  I  can  catch  the  express  going  West. 
There  are  reasons  why  I  must  make  no  delay  ;  must 
hasten  back  to  explain  many  things  to  the  Matron  of 
the  Sisterhood,  where  I  have  dwelt  so  safely  and  so 
peacefully  since  I  left  X ." 

"  Give  me  the  reasons.  *  Impossible  ?  ne  me  ditea 
jumais  ce  bete  de  mot!'  Give  me  your  reasons." 

His  arm  tightened  around  her. 

"Not  now." 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  601 

"Then  you  shall  not  leave  me.  I  will  endure  no 
more  mysteries." 

"  Mr.  Dunbar,  I  wear  the  uniform  of  a  celibate 
Order  of  Gray  Sisters  ;  and  the  matron  trusted  me  in 
an  unusual  degree,  when  she  consented  that  I  should 
undertake  this  journey  on  a  secret  mission.  I  came 
to  Niagara,  as  I  supposed,  to  keep  an  appointment 
with  my  brother,  and  I  met  you.  If  I  lingered  one 
instant  here,  it  might  reflect  some  discredit  upon  this 
dear  gray  garb,  which  all  hold  so  irreproachable. 
Sister  Ruth  trusted  me.  I  cannot,  I  will  not,  even  in 
the  smallest  iota,  appear  to  betray  her  confidence ; 
and  I  must  go  at  once,  and  go  as  I  came — alone.  Bid 
the  driver  take  me  to  the  railway  station,  and  you 
must  remain  in  the  carriage.  I  can  have  no  escort. 
Four  presence  would  subject  me  to  criticism,  and  I 
will  guard  the '  gray  '  that  so  mercifully  guarded  me." 

"  Beryl,  are  you  trying  to  elude  me  ?" 

"  I  am  faithfully  trying  to  keep  my  compact  with 
Sister  Ruth.  Here  is  a  card  bearing  the  exact 
address  of  the  '  Anchorage'.  I  am  going  there  as 
quickly  as  possible,  to  make  speedy  arrangements  for 
my  long  journey  West,  to  that  place  almost  within 
sound  of  the  Pacific  Ocean." 

"  Put  your  hand  in  mine.  Promise  me  before  God, 
that  you  will  not  vanish  from  me;  that  you  will  not  leave 
the  '  Anchorage  '  until  I  come  and  see  you  there." 

"I  promise;  but  time  presses.  I  must  hasten  to 
find  Bertie." 

"  Do  you  know  exactly  where  to  go  ?" 

"  Yes.     I  have  minute  directions  written  down." 

"  Wait  until  I  come.  I  trust  you  to  keep  your  prom 
ise.  Ah  !  after  to-day,  I  could  not  bear  to  lose  my  'Rosa 
Alba. '  God  make  me  more  worthy  of  my  loyal  and  beau 
tiful  darling.  After  all,  not  Alcestis,  but  Antigone !" 


•02  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBEMUS. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

V\J  HITE  and  still,  lay  the  world  of  the  far  North- 
*  *  west,  wrapped  in  peace  as  profound  as  that 
which  reigned  in  primeval  ages ;  when  ancestral 
Nahuas,  dragging  their  sleds  across  frozen  Behring 
Straits,  or  cast  amid  other  drift  of  the  Japanese 
current  upon  the  strange  new  Pacific  shore,  climbed 
the  mountains,  and  fell  on  their  faces  before  the  sun, 
whose  worshippers  have  sacrificed  in  all  hemispheres. 

If  civilization  be  the  analogue  of  geologic  accretion, 
how  tortuous  is  the  trend  and  dip  of  the  ethnological 
strata,  how  abrupt  the  overlapping  of  myths.  How 
many  aeons  divided  the  totem  coyote  from  the  she- wolf 
of  Romulus  and  Remus  ?  Which  is  the  primitive  and 
parent  flame,  the  sacred  fire  of  Pueblo  Estufas,  of 
Greek  Prytaneum,  of  Roman  Vesta,  of  Persian 
Atish-khudahs  ?  If  the  Laurentian  system  be  the 
oldest  upheaval  of  land,  and  its  udawn  animal  "  the 
first  evolution  of  life  that  left  fossil  footprints,  where 
are  all  the  missing  links  in  ethnology,  which  would  save 
science  that  rejects  Genesis — the  paradox  of  peopling 
the  oldest  known  continent  by  immigration  from  those 
incalculably  younger  ? 

Winter  had  lagged,  loath  to  set  his  snow  shoes  upon 
the  lingering,  diaphanous  train  of  Indian  Summer,  but 
December  was  inexorable,  and  the  livery  of  ice  glitter 
ed  everywhere  in  the  mid-day  sun. 

Along  a  well-worn  bridle  trail,  now  slippery  as 
glass,  winding  around  the  base  of  crags,  through 
narrow  gorges  that  almost  overarched,  leaving  a  mere 
skylight  of  intense  blue  to  mark  the  way,  moved  a 
party  of  four  persons  in  single  file,  slowly  ascending  a 


AT  THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS.  608 

steep  spiral.  In  advance,  mounted  on  a  black  pony, 
was  a  cowled  monk,  whose  long-,  thin  profile  suggested 
that  of  Savonarola  ;  and  just  behind  him  rode  a  Cana 
dian  half-breed  guide,  with  the  copperish  red  of  aborig 
inal  America  on  his  high  cheek  bones,  and  the  warm 
glow  of  sunny  France  in  his  keen  black  eyes.  Guiding 
his  horse  with  the  left  hand,  his  right  led  the  dappled 
mustang  belonging  to  the  third  figure;  a  tall,  broad- 
shouldered  man  wearing  an  overcoat  that  reached 
to  his  knees,  who  walked  with  his  hand  on  the  bridle 
bit  of  a  white  mule,  whereon  sat  a  woman,  wrapped  in 
silver  fox  furs  from  throat  to  feet.  A  cap  or  hood  of 
the  same  soft,  warm  material  was  worn  over  her  head, 
where  a  roll  of  dark  auburn  hair  coiled  at  the  back; 
and  around  her  white  temples  clustered  rings  and  ten 
drils  of  the  glossy  bronze  locks  that  contrasted  so  sin 
gularly  with  the  black  arch  of  the  brows,  and  the 
fringe  that  darkened  the  luminous  grey  eyes. 

One  month  had  elapsed  since  the  Umilta  Sisters  of  the 
"  Anchorage",  following  Sister  Ruth,  walked  in  the 
star-lit  dawn  of  a  November  day,  to  a  neighboring1 
church,  and  watched  Doctor  Grantlin  lead  down  the 
aisle,  a  pale,  trembling  woman  whose  hand  he  placed 
hi  that  of  the  man,  waiting  in  front  of  the  altar.  The 
Sisterhood  had  listened  to  the  solemn  words  of  the 
marriage  service,  the  interchange  of  vows,  and  the 
benediction,  while  priestly  hands  were  laid  upon  two 
bowed  heads. 

When  the  rising  sun  greeted  the  husband  and  wife, 
they  were  speeding  westward,  on  the  first  stage  of 
their  long  journey. 

To-day,  the  quest  would  end  ;  and  into  Beryl's  face 
had  crept  the  wistful  yearning  that  was  a  reflection  of 
that  strange  blending  of  patience  and  longing,  which 


604  AT  THE   MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

made  her  so  beautiful  in  her  husband's  eyes  ;  so  strong 
in  faith,  so  serene  in  waiting  resignation.  Suddenly 
the  monk  drew  rein,  threw  up  his  drooping  head,  and 
listened.  Clear  and  sweet  as  the  silvery  chime  of  bells 
ringing  in  happy  dreams,  floated  through  the  crystal 
air  the  sound  of  the  Angelus;  and  fainter  and  fainter  fell 
the  echoes,  dying  in  immeasurable  distance.  Low  bent 
the  shaven  head,  and  through  brown  fingers  stole  the 
consecrated  beads,  while  with  closed  eyes  the  prayers 
were  uttered;  and  in  the  pause,  the  guide  made  the  sign 
of  the  cross,  and  Mr.  Dunbar  instinctively  took  off  his 
hat. 

"Six  hours' steady  climbing  is  a  severe  tax.  Are 
you  very  tired  ?"  he  whispered,  laying  his  arm  around 
Beryl's  waist,  and  lifting  his  brilliant  eyes  eloquent  with 
an  infinite  tenderness. 

With  one  hand  on  his  shoulder  as  he  stood  beside 
her,  she  leaned  down  until  her  lips  touched  the  black 
hair  tossed  back  from  his  forehead. 

"  After  waiting  so  many  terrible  years,  what  are  a 
few  more  hours  of  suspense  ?  Since  I  have  you,  can  I 
ever  again  feel  tired?" 

Behind  them  lay  a  dark  undulating  line,  where  oak 
and  cedar  had  made  tneir  last  stand  on  the  upward 
march;  nearer,  the  spectral  ranks  of  stunted  firs  showed 
the  outposts  of  forest  advance ;  and  a  few  feet  from  the 
narrow  path,  a  perpendicular  cliff  formed  one  wall  of  a 
deep  canon,  where  a  glittering  ribbon  of  water  hurried 
to  leap  into  the  Pacific,  ere  pursuing  Whiter  arrested 
and  bound  it  with  icy  manacles  to  its  stony  bed.  To 
the  North  dazzling  white  peaks  cut  strange  solemn 
shapes,  like  silver  cameos  on  a  ground  of  indigo  sky ; 
and  overhead,  burnished  lines  of  snow  geese  printed 
their  glittering  triangles  on  the  paler  blue  of  the  zenith, 
as  the  winged  host  dipped  southward. 


AT  THE  MEKCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  605 

The  monk  moved  on,  and  after  a  while  his  compan 
ions  perceived  that  the  way  descended  rapidly  until 
thev  i^ached  the  face  of  a  rock  that  rose  straight  and 
smooth  as  a  wall  of  human  masonry,  and  apparently 
barred  further  progress.  Taking  from  his  bosom 
the  twisted  section  of  a  polished  horn,  only  a  finger's 
length,  the  cowled  figure  raised  it  to  his  lips,  and  blew 
three  whistles,  that  ended  in  a  rising  inflection  which 
waked  all  the  wolfish  pack  of  mountain  echoes  into 
fitful  barking.  Two  moments  later,  an  answering  sig 
nal  seemed  to  issue  from  the  invisible  jaws  of  Hades ; 
a  wild,  quivering  sepulchral  cry,  as  of  a  monster  half 
throttled.  Twenty  feet  beyond  the  spot  where  the 
party  had  halted,  a  steep  descent  led  them  to  a  shelving 
canon,  once  the  bed  of  a  broad  mountain  torrent,  whose 
course  some  seismic  upheaval  had  diverted  to  other 
channels.  Following  for  a  few  yards  the  sinuous  stony 
way,  worn  here  and  there  into  smooth  circular  cavities 
like  miniature  wells,  by  the  eddying  of  the  ancient  cur 
rent  and  the  grinding  of  pebbles,  the  travellers  turned 
a  sharp  angle,  and  found  themselves  at  the  mouth  of 
Tartarus. 

The  force  of  the  stream  had  originally  cut  a  low  arch 
in  its  egress,  which  human  needs  and  ingenuity  had 
broadened,  heightened  and  closed  by  heavy  iron  bars, 
slipped  into  stone  slots.  Behind  this  gateway  glim 
mered  a  faint  light  that  brightened  into  a  red.  star  ;  and 
soon,  a  figure  clad  in  the  long,  black  monastic  gown, 
and  bearing  a  huge  torch  of  blazing  pitch  pine,  emerged 
from  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  There  was  the  rattle  of 
a  chain,  the  creak  of  a  pulley,  and  the  bars  were  low 
ered. 

So  vividly  did  the  scene  recall  that  black,  stormy 
night  in  February,  when  Mr.  Dunbar  had  seen  the 
lantern  of  the  gaoler  flash  through  the  penitentiary 


606  AT  THE  MEKCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

gates  closing  on  the  young  convict,  that  he  drew  his 
breath  now  through  clinched  teeth,  and  quickly  laid 
his  hand  upon  that  of  his  wife,  which  grasped  the 
bridle  resting  upon  the  neck  of 'her  mule.  Silently  the 
procession  filed  in,  and  with  little  delay  the  torch 
bearer  replaced  the  bars,  advanced  to  the  head  of  the 
column,  and  with  long,  swift  strides  led  the  way  down 
a  wide  tunnel.  Between  the  monks  no  salutation  w;u 
exchanged  ;  and  only  the  ringing  tramp  of  the  horses' 
feet  on  the  stone  pavement,  jarred  the  profound  still 
ness.  The  lurid  glare  of  the  torch  danced  on  the  rocky 
vault,  and  the  shadows  projected  by  men  and  beasts 
were  gigantic  and  grotesque.  Very  soon  a  gray  twi 
light  stole  to  meet  them;  an  arch  of  light  like  a  window 
opening  into  heaven  brightened,  glared,  and  the  party 
emerged  into  a  courtyard  that  seemed  an  entrance  to 
some  vast  amphitheatre. 

Opposite  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  and  distant  per 
haps  two  hundred  yards,  lay  an  oval  lake,  bordered  on 
the  right  by  a  valley  running  southeast,  while  its 
northern  shore  rose  abruptly  in  a  parapet  of  rock, 
that  patient  cloistered  workmen  had  cut  into  broad  ter 
races  ;  and  upon  which  opened  rows  of  cells  excavated 
from  the  mountain  side,  and  resembling  magnified 
swallow  nests,  or  a  huge  petrified  honey-comb  sliced 
vertically. 

A  legend  so  hoary,  that  "the  memory  of  man  run 
neth  not  to  the  contrary",  had  assigned  the  outlines  of 
this  stone  cutting  to  that  dim  dawn  of  primeval  tribal 
life,  which  left  its  later  traces  in  the  Watch  Tower  of 
the  Mancos,  the  Casa  del  Eco,  and  the  ' l  niche  stairway 
of  the  Hovenweep". 

In  the  slow  deposition  of  the  human  strata,  cliff 
dwellers  disappeared  beneath  predatory,  nomadic  mod 
ern  savages,  who,  hunting  and  fishing  in  this  lonely 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TDBEKIUS.  607 

fastness,  had  increased  its  natural  fortifications,  and 
made  it  an  impregnable  depot  of  supplies,  until  Hud 
son  Bay  trappers  wrenched  it  from  their  grasp,  and 
appropriated  it  as  a  peltry  magazine.  To  the  dynasty 
of  traders  had  succeeded  the  spiritual  rule  of  a  Jesuit 
Mission  ;  then  miners  kindled  camp  fires  in  the  desert 
ed  excavations,  as  they  probed  the  mountain  for  ores  ; 
and  more  recently  the  noiseless  feet  of  a  band  of  holy 
celibates  belonging  to  an  austere  Order,  went  up  and 
down  the  face  of  the  cliff,  with  cross  and  bell  and  incense 
exorcising  haunting  aboriginal  spectres ;  while  holy 
water  sprinkled  the  uncanny,  dismal  precincts  of  a  cir 
cular  room  hollowed  behind  and  beneath  all  other 
apartments,  the  monumental,  sacred  Estufa. 

At  a  signal  from  the  monk  who  had  escorted  them, 
Mr.  Dunbar  lifted  Beryl  from  her  saddle,  and  hand  in 
hand  they  followed  him  across  the  courtyard,  mounted 
a  flight  of  steps  cut  in  the  rock,  and  passed  into  a  low, 
dim  room,  where  the  ceiling  was  crossed  in  squares  by 
heavy,  red  cedar  beams.  The  floor  was  paved  with 
diamond-shaped  slabs  of  purple  slate,  the  whitewashed 
wall  adorned  with  colored  lithographs  of  the  Passion ; 
and  above  the  cavernous  chimney  arch,  where  cedar 
logs  blazed,  ran  the  inscription:  "Otiositas  inimica 
est  animce." 

Noiselessly  as  the  wings  of  a  huge  bat,  a  leathern 
screen  was  folded  back  from  the  corner  of  the  room, 
and  a  venerable  man  advanced  from  the  gloom. 

A  fringe  of  white  hair  surrounded  his  head  like  a 
laurel  chaplet  in  old  statues,  and  the  heavy,  straight 
brows  that  almost  met  across  the  nose,  hung  as  snow- 
flakes  over  the  intensely  black  eyes  as  glowing  as 
lamps  set  in  the  sockets  of  an  ivory  image.  Scholarly 
and  magnetic  as  Abelard,  with  a  certain  innate  proud 
poise  of  the  head  and  shoulders,  that  ill  accorded  with 


608  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

the  Carlo-Borromeo  expression  of  seraphic  serenity 
and  meekness,  set  like  a  seal  on  the  large  square 
mouth,  he  looked  a  veritable  type  of  the  ecclesi 
astical  cenobites  who,  since  the  days  of  Pachomius 
at  Tabennse,  have  made  their  hearts  altars  of  the 
Triple  Vows,  and  girdled  the  globe  with  a  cable  of 
scholastic  mysticism.  The  pale,  shrunken  hand  he 
laid  on  the  black  serge  that  covered  his  breast,  was 
delicate  as  a  woman's,  and  checkered  with  knotted 
lines  where  the  blood  crept  feebly. 

Bowing  low,  he  spoke  in  a  carefully  modulated 
voice,  deep  and  resonant  as  a  bass  viol : 

< '  Welcome  to  such  hospitality  as  our  poverty  per 
mits.  A  cipher  telegram  forwarded  from  the  nearest 
station,  sixty  miles  hence,  prepared  us  to  expect  a 
newly-married  woman  searching  for  a  man,  known  to 
the  secular  world  as  Robert  Luke  Brentano.  You 
claim  to  be  his  nearest  blood  relative  ?" 

"  I  am  his  sister.     How  is  he  ?" 

"  Alive,  but  sinking  fast ;  sustained  beyond  all  hu 
man  calculation  by  the  hope  of  seeing  you.  You  have 
not  come  one  moment  too  soon.  The  man  you  seek  is 
only  a  lay  brother  here.  The  rules  of  our  Order  forbid 
the  admission  of  women  to  the  cloister,  but  in  articulo 
mortis  !  can  I  deny  him  now  the  confession  he  wishes 
to  offer  you  ?  Our  holy  ordinances  have  done  their  di 
vine  work ;  the  last  rites  of  the  Church  have  soothed 
and  consecrated  the  heart  ol  Brother  Luke,  and  an 
hour  ago,  extreme  unction  was  administered.  Follow 
me." 

"  He  knows  that  I  am  coming  ?"  asked  Berjd,  rais 
ing  her  white,  tear-drenched  face  from  her  husband's 
shoulder. 

"  He  knows  ;  and  holds  death  back  to  see  you.  His 
self  -imposed  penance  makes  him  steadfastly  refuse  the 


AT   THE   MERCY  OF   TIBERIUS.  609 

comparative  comfort  of  our  mep/gre  infirmary,  and  it 
is  his  wish  to  die,  where  he  has  spent  so  many  nights 
in  penitential  prayer.  For  several  days,  the  paralysis 
of  years  has  been  gradually  loosening  its  fetters,  and 
this  morning,  the  distressing  and  ghastly  distortion  of 
one  side  of  his  face  almost  disappeared.  Though  his 
voice  is  well  nigh  gone,  it  returns  fitfully,  and  his 
strength  seems  supernatural.  Fearing  that  you 
might  not  arrive  in  time,  I  have  written  down  his  last 
confession,  and  here  commit  it  to  you." 

He  placed  a  roll  of  paper  in  her  hand,  and  drawing 
his  cowl  over  his  head,  led  them  up  an  easy  stairway 
cut  in  the  stone,  to  a  second  terrace  four  feet  wide, 
that  projected  as  a  roof  beyond  the  lower  tier  of  cells. 

A  hundred  feet  below,  lay  the  lakelet,  shining  as  a 
mirror ;  to  the  southeast  stretched  a  valley  bounded 
by  buttes  crowned  with  cedar,  and  in  the  undulating 
field,  locked  from  fierce  winds,  cattle  and  goats  sunned 
themselves,  where  in  summer  time  grain  waved,  fruit 
ripened,  and  bees  hummed. 

From  the  parapet  of  a  low  wall  facing  West,  rose  a 
round  tower  heavily  buttressed,  where  swung  the  bell; 
and  through  an  open  arch  in  the  side,  under  the  uplifted 
cross,  the  eye  swept  on  and  on,  over  a  world  of  snowy 
peaks,  dark  canons,  mountain  minarets  girding  the 
northern  horizon;  and  far,  far  away  a  scintillating 
thread  of  white  fire  marked  where  the  Pacific  smiled 
behind  the  fiords  that  channelled  the  rock-ribbed  coast. 

In  that  still,  cold  and  brilliant  atmosphere,  how 
dazzling-  the  snow  blink,  how  sharp  the  outline  of  pro 
jected  shadows,  how  close  the  bending  heavens 
seemed  ;  but  to  the  yearning  soul  of  Beryl,  the  silent, 
solemn  sublimity  of  the  mighty  panorama  made  no 
appeal. 

Through  slowly  dripping1  tears  she  saw  only  the 


610  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

spectral  flitting-  of  her  mother's  sad  face,  as  in  their 
last  interview  she  had  committed  the  soul  of  the  son 
to  the  guardianship  of  the  daughter. 

The  monk  paused,  and  pointed  to  the  third  cell  from 
the  spot  where  he  stood. 

"  It  is  but  a  step  farther.  Yonder,  where  the  skull 
is  set  over  the  entrance." 

"  I  will  wait  here,"  said  Mr.  Dunbar,  relinquishing 
with  a  tight  pressure,  his  wife's  cold  hand. 

"  No,  come.     Are  we  not  one  ?" 

She  hurried  along  the  terrace,  and  reached  the  low 
open  doorway  fronting  the  South,  where  the  sunshine 
streamed  in  like  God's  smile  of  forgiveness. 

On  the  stone  floor  was  a  straw  pallet  covered  with 
coarse  brown  blankets,  whereon,  half  propped  by  one 
elbow,  with  head  against  the  gray  rocky  wall,  lay  the 
emaciated  wreck  of  a  man,  whose  pallid  face  might 
have  been  mistaken  for  that  of  a  corpse,  but  for  the 
superhuman  splendor  of  the  wide,  deep  brown  eyes. 

Beryl  sprang  into  the  cave-like  recess,  and  fell  on  her 
knees.  She  snatched  him  to  her  heart,  laid  his  head 
on  her  shoulder. 

"  Bertie  !    My  darling !  my  darling  ! — " 

He  tried  to  raise  one  arm  to  her  neck,  but  it  fell 
back.  She  lifted  it,  held  it  close,  and  face  to  face  with 
her  lips  on  his,  she  broke  into  passionate  sobbing, 
rocking  herself  to  and  fro,  in  the  tempest  of  grief. 

"  Give  me,  give — me — air — "  He  struggled  for 
breath,  which  her  tight  clasp  denied  him ;  and  for  some 
minutes  he  panted,  while  Mr.  Dunbar  fanned  him  with 
his  hat.  Then  the  heaving  chest  grew  more  quiet,  and 
alter  a  moment,  his  eyes  lighted  with  a  happy  smile 
as  they  fastened  on  Beryl's  face,  bent  over  him. 

"  Gigina,  sweet,  faithful  sister,  it  is  almost  heaven 
to  see  you  once  more.  God  is  good,  even  to  me." 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  IIBERIUS.  611 

"  If  I  could  have  found  you  sooner  !  All  these  dread 
ful  years  I  have  lived  at  God's  feet — with  one  prayer : 
let  me  help  my  Bertie,  let  me  see  my  brother's  face," 
moaned  Beryl,  pressing1  her  lips  to  the  clammy,  flesh- 
less  hand  she  held  against  her  throat. 

"I  was  too  unworthy.  I  dreaded  your  pure  eyes, 
and  mother's,  as  I  would  an  accusing-  angel's.  I  did 
not  know,  then,  that  mother  was  already  one  of  the 
Beatified.  I  know  now,  that  neither  life  nor  death, 
nor  sin  nor  shame,  nor  the  brand  of  disgrace  can  change 
mother's  love  ;  for  I  see  her  to-day,  smiling1  at  the  door, 
beckoning  me  to  follow  where  the  sun  shines  forever. 
My  sainted  mother." 

"  Her  last  breath  was  a  blessing  for  you.  See,  Ber 
tie  !  this  was  her  wedding  ring.  Her  final  message 
was,  '  Give  this  to  my  darling  !'  Be  comforted,  dear 
Bertie,  she  loved  you  even  to  the  end — supremely.  You 
were  her  idol  in  death  as  in  life.  Our  father's  ring  was 
the  most  sacred  relic  she  owned,  and  she  left  it  to  you." 

She  attempted  to  place  the  gold  band  on  one  of  his 
fingers,  but  he  closed  that  hand,  and  the  dark  eyes  so 
like  his  mother's,  were  for  an  instant  dimmed  by  tears. 

"  Keep  it ;  no  sin  of  theft  soils  your  hands.  You  can 
wear  it  without  a  blush.  You  never  robbed  an  old 
man  of  his  gold.  That  was  my  crime.  I  am  a  thief." 

"  Our  God  sees  you  have  repented  bitterly  ;  and  He 
has  pardoned  your  sins  for  His  dear  Son's  sake.  Tell 
me,  Bertie,  have  you  made  your  eternal  salvation 
sure  ?  Are  you,  in  your  soul,  at  peace  with  God  ?" 

"At  perfect  peace.  I  want  to  die,  because  now  I  am 
no  longer  afraid  to  meet  Him,  who  forgives  even 
thieves.  Gigi,  wait  a  little — 

He  seemed  to  make  a  desperate  effort  to  rally  his 
strength,  and  the  thin,  fine  nostril  flared,  in  the  battle 
for  breath. 


612  AT   THE   MERCY   OF  TIBERIUS. 

"  There  has  been  a  terrible  mistake,  and  they  made 
you  suffer  for  what  they  imagined  happened.  When 
I  found  I  had  only  a  few  months  to  live,  I  wrote  to 
Father  Beckx,  whom  I  had  known  in  Montreal,  and 
asked  him  to  tell  mother  where  I  was.  I  never 

knew  till  he  went  to  X and  wrote  us  about  the 

trial,  that  you  were  suspected  and  punished  for  a  crime 
that  was  never  committed.  I  thought  you  and  mother 
were  safe  in  New  York,  all  those  years,  and  I  knew 
that  you  would  be  sure  to  take  care  of  her.  I  have  it 
all  written  down. — and  I  can't  tell  you  now — but  I  want 
to  look  straight  into  your  dear  eyes — my  brave  sister, 
my  loving  sister — and  let  you  learn  first  from  me — the 
reward  you  have  won — your  Bertie  is  not  a  murderer. 
I  did  take  the  money  from  the  vault  which  was  wide 
open,  when  first  I  saw  it.  I  did  steal  and  destroy  the 
will,  which  I  thought  unjustly  robbed  us  all  of  our 
right  to  the  Darrington  estate,  but  that  was  my  sole 
offence.  I  am  a  thief,  before  God  and  man,  but  there 
is  no  more  stain  of  blood  on  my  hands  than  on  yours. 
General  Darrington  was  not  murdered.  He  died  by 
the  hand  of  God  alone — " 

A  bluish  shadow  settled  around  his  parted  lips,  and 
he  panted. 

Mr.  Dunbar  raised  him,  fanned  him,  rested  his  head 
more  comfortably  against  his  sister's  shoulder ;  and 
again  he  looked  intently  into  her  eyes,  as  though  his 
soul,  plumed  for  departure,  must  right  itself  in  the 
presence  of  hers,  before  the  final  flight. 

"  He  struck  me  with  the  andiron,  and  broke  my 
wrist  here — then  before  I  ever  touched  him — as  he 
raised  it  to  assault  me  the  second  time—  there  came  an 
awful  blinding  glare — the  world  was  wrapped  in  a  blue 
fire — and  God  struck  us  both  down.  When  I  became 
conscious,  my  senses  were  all  stunned,  but  after  a 


AT  THE   MERCY  OF   TIBERIUS.  613 

while  I  knew  I  was  lying-  on  the  floor,  with  a  cold 
hand  resting  like  lead  on  my  face.  I  got  up  ;  the 
figure  didn't  move,  and  I  supposed  that  like  myself 
he  was  stunned  by  the  shock.  As  I  passed  a  mirror 
on  my  way  to  the  window — I  saw  myself — for  the  lamp 
was  burning  bright.  God  had  branded  me  a  thief. 
Do  you  see  here— drawn — paralyzed,  oh,  Gina  !  All 
these  years  I  have  worn  the  dark  streak,  and  one  eye 
was  blind,  one  ear  stone  deaf.  I  was  a  walking-  shadow 
of  my  own  sin  ;  horrible  to  look  upon — and  I  fled  to 
avoid  the  gaze  of  my  race.  Somewhere,  in  Illinois  I 
think,  I  heard  two  men  on  a  train  speak  of  a  large  re 
ward  offered  for  the  recovery  of  Gen'l  Darrington's 
will,  which  had  been  stolen  by  one  of  his  heirs,  whom 
the  police  were  hunting.  I  was  branded — and  on  my 
breast  here  was  printed  the  face  of  the  dead  man— 
for  he  had  torn  my  shirt  open  as  he  seized  me  with 
one  hand,  and  struck  me  with  the  other.  I  hid  in 
mines,  crossed  the  plains,  secreted  myself  in  a  bee 
ranche.  Then  the  Canadian  railroad  was  partly  built, 
and  I  joined  the  grading  party  and  worked— until  the 
curse  of  my  sin  was  more  than  I  could  bear.  I  heard 
of  the  holy  Brothers  here,  made  my  last  journey,  con 
fessed  my  theft,  and  entered  on  my  penance.  Gina,  Gen 
eral  Darrington  was  killed  instantly  by  the  lightning.'' 

As  the  burden  Beryl  had  long  borne  slipped  suddenly 
from  her  heart,  the  joy  of  release  from  blood-stain  was 
so  unexpected,  so  intense,  that  her  face  blanched  to  a 
deadly  pallor,  and  the  glad  eyes  she  lifted  to  her  hus 
band's  shone  as  those  of  an  angel. 

"  Bertie— Bertie— "  Words  failed  her.  She  could 
onlv  kiss  the  wasted  cold  hands  that  were  innoceni 
of  bloodshed. 

After  some  moments,  the  dying  man  said  almost  ir 
a  whisper : 


614  AT  THE  MERCY  OP  TIBERIUS. 

' '  I  never  knew  you  were  punished  for  my  sin,  until 
it  was  too  late  to  save  you,  but  God's  witness  cleared 
your  pure  name.  The  lightning  that  scorched  me, 
printed  its  testimony  to  set  you  free.  My  sister — 
my  sister — God  will  surely  recompense  your  faithful 
The  voice  died  in  a  quivering  gurgle. 

"  I  have  my  reward,  dear  Bertie.  Oh,  how  much 
more  than  I  deserve  !  I  have  you  in  my  arms,  inno 
cent  of  murder,  thank  God  !  thank  God  !  I  have  the 
blessed  assurance  that  your  pardoned  soul  goes  to 
meet  mother's  in  Eternal  Peace ;  and  to  secure  that,  I 
would  willingly  have  died  an  ignominious  death.  It 
was  through  the  fiery  flames  of  prison,  and  trial  and 
convict  shame,  that  God  led  me  to  the  most  precious 
crown  any  woman  ever  wore,  my  husband's  confidence 
and  love.  Only  behind  dungeon  bars  could  I  have  won 
my  husband's  heart,  which  holds  for  me  the  whole 
wide  world  of  earthly  peace  and  hope.  For  your  sin, 
you  have  suffered.  Its  consequences  to  others  from 
the  destruction  of  the  will,  have  been  averted  by  the 
prompt  transfer  of  all  the  property  which  Gen'l  Dar- 
rington  left,  to  his  chosen  heir  Prince.  Pecuniarily  no 
one  was  injured  by  your  act.  Dear  Bertie — Bertie, 
are  you  listening  ?" 

He  smiled  but  made  no  answer,  and  his  eyes  had  a 
strained  and  exultant  expression.  After  a  long 
silence,  he  cried  huskily  : 

' l  The  curse  is  taken  away — out  of  my  blinded  eye 
I  see — Agnus  Dei  qui  tollib  peccata  mundi — " 

A  slight  spasm  shook  him,  and  feeling  his  cheek 
grow  colder,  Beryl  threw  off  the  fur  cloak,  and  folded 
it  closely  around  the  wasted  body  which  leaned  heavily 
against  her.  The  sunny  short  rings  of  hair  clung  to 
his  sunken,  blue  veined  temples,  where  cold  drops 


AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS.  615 

gathered ;  and  a  gray  seal  was  set  about  the  wan  lips 
that  writhed  in  the  fight  for  breath. 

"  Bertie,  kiss  me — tell  me  you  are  not  afraid." 

She  fancied  he  nestled  his  face  closer,  but  the  wide 
eyes  were  fixed  on  the  golden  light  that  was  fading 
fast  across  the  narrow  doorway. 

Pressing  her  quivering  lips  to  his,  she  sobbed  : 

"  Tell  mother,  her  little  girl  was  faithful—" 

Another  spasm  shook  the  form,  and  after  a  little 
while,  the  eyes  closed;  the  panting  ceased,  and  the 
tired  breath  was  drawn  in  long,  shuddering  sighs. 

Mr.  Dunbar  beckoned  to  the  cowled  form  who, 
rosary  in  hand,  paced  the  terrace,  and  the  two  laid 
the  dying  man  back  on  his  pallet  of  straw. 

Fainter  grew  the  slow  breath,  and  the  voice  of  the 
monk  rolled  through  the  silence,  like  the  tremolo 
swell  of  an  organ  : 

"Delictajuventutis,  et  ignorantias  ejus,  qucesumus, 
ne  memineris,  Domine;  sed  secundum  magnam  mis- 
ericordiam  tuam  memor  esto  illius  in  gloria  clari- 
tatis  tuce." 

On  the  stone  floor  Beryl  knelt,  with  her  brother's 
icy  hand  clasped  against  her  cheek,  and  as  she 
watched,  the  twitching  of  the  muscles  ceased,  the  lips 
so  long  distorted,  took  on  their  old  curves  of  beauty. 
A  marble  pallor  blanched  the  dark  stain  of  the 
branded  cheek,  and  the  Bertie  of  innocent  youth  came 
slowly  out  of  the  long  eclipse. 

Death,  God's  most  tender  angel,  laid  her  divine  lips 
upon  the  scars  of  sin,  that  vanished  at  her  touch  ; 
drew  her  white  fingers  across  the  lines  and  shadows 
of  suffering  time,  and  leaving  the  halo  of  eternal 
peace  upon  the  frozen  features,  gave  back  to  Beryl 
her  beautiful  Bertie  of  old. 


616  AT  THE  MERCY  OF  TIBERIUS. 

The  sun  was  setting ;  and  far  away  the  ice  domes 
and  minarets  of  immemorial  mountains  took  on  the 
burnished  similitude  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  which  only 
the  exiled  saw  from  lonely  Patmos. 

Lennox  Dunbar  lifted  his  wife  from  the  form  of 
the  sleeper,  whose  ransomed  soul  had  entered  early 
into  Rest ;  and  folded  her  tenderly  to  the  heart  that 
henceforth  was  her  refuge  from  all  earthly  woes. 

At  midnight,  the  brooding  silence  of  the  snow-hood 
ed  solitude  was  broken  by  the  tolling  of  the  monastery 
bell ;  and  while  all  the  mountain  echoes  responded  to 
the  slow  knell  for  the  departed  soul,  there  rose  from 
the  chapel  under  the  cliffs,  the  solemn  chant  of  the 
monks  for  their  dead  : 

"  Requiem  ceternam  dona  eis,  Domine,  et  lux 
perpetua  luceat  eis." 

"  Give  them  eternal  rest,  0  Lord,  and  let  perpetual 
light  shine  upon  them." 


TBE  EJTD. 


-J 


HOME  USE 

CIRCULATION  DEPARTMENT 
MAIN  LIBRARY 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 
1 -month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling  642-3405. 
6-month  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing  books 

to  Circulation  Desk. 

Renewals  and  recharges  may  be  made  4  days  prior 
to  due  date.  ^ 

ALL  BOOKS  ARE  SUBJECT  TO  RECALL  7  DOTS 
AFTER  DATE  CHECKED  OUT. 

~"~ 


3  77 


—^ 


' 


LD2l-A30m-7,'73  General  Library 

(R2275slO)476 — A-32  University  of  California 

Berkeley 


LIBRARIES 


CDSEDlSfl?! 


Ivil50883 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


